The Adventure of Gabriel de Clieu

Gabriel de Clieu

The largest coffee producers in the war is located in the Americas. Brazil produced about 2 million tons of coffee. Coffee originated from Ethiopia and later spread to neighboring Arabian Peninsula. It became a hit throughout the Islamic world. It was through diplomacy and trade that coffee spread in Europe. But how did coffee arrived to Americas had a lot of stories. Among of these stories was filled with adventure, patience, and hardships. The story of Gabriel de Clieu became well-known for its “impact” and the toils he experience to bring coffee to the other side of the Atlantic.

Tea: Arriving to Japan

Emperor Saga

Tea is widely drink in East Asia. It traced its roots from the Chinese legendary god, Shennong. But the agent of spreading tea to the neighbors China were Buddhist monks. Japan, in particular, credited a Buddhist monk for the introduction of tea to the archipelago.

Beer and Ancient Egypt

Other than the Sumerians, there was another ancient civilization capable of producing and consuming beer. The Sumerians were known as beer consumers. They produced it from the barley that grew in the fertile lands of the Tigris and the Euphrates River. Women had the monopoly of the beer brewing industry with the female goddess Ninkasi as the testament to this dominance. However, the Sumerians were not just the drunkards of beer in the ancient world. Just at the southwest of region of Mesopotamia, another civilization flourish and proved to be another beer drinking civilization. The Egyptians flourish for thousands of years. Its fertile lands were fit to cultivate barley which was used to produce beer or what they called heneket or booza.

Sumerian Women and Beer

About 5000 BCE, civilization began to spring up in the Fertile Crescent. The two rivers of Euphrates and Tigris gave birth to a civilization that would last for thousands of years. The civilization of Sumer brought new developments to mankind. It developed so much that the modern had taken for granted. From writing to the wheel, the Sumerians made many progress for mankind. Including to its line of developments was the beer. Sumerians had during their time gave importance and reverence to their favorite beverage.

Conrad Van Houten: Start of a Chocolate revolution

Conrad van Houten

Ever since, the time of that Hernan Cortez brought back cacao beans from the Americas, it became a luxury across Europe. From Spain it spread across to France and into the court of the extravagant court of Louis XIV. It then spread to other countries, to the Swiss, the Dutch, and later, the British. More and more ways of processing chocolate developed. Among the most pioneering was a Dutch chocolatier and engineer, Conrad van Houten.

Purity Law: Protecting Beer in Bavaria

William (Wilhelm) IV, Duke of Bavaria

Before the advent of water treatment and water safety laws, water quality was very poor. It was only use for washing, bathing, but never for human drinking. It was a custom of the people to drink processed beverages, like wine, ale, and also for beer. Popularity of beer led into problems in productions. In order to protect the consumers of beer, two dukes enacted the Purity.

Ottoman Coffee: Love and Hate

Coffee Houses in the Ottoman Empire

The Arabs contributed tremendously to the spread of knowledge about coffee. From the Ethiopian province of Kaffa to the cultivation of coffee in Yemen, then through the whole of the Islamic world. In the 14th century, its reach expanded further and found its way to the courts of Europe. However, the spread of coffee came not without bitterness, the controversy of coffee having the same effects as alcohol was still not over.

Arabs Love Affair of Coffee

Arab Coffee Merchants (Credit: BBC)

Coffee said to have, according to legends, originated from a goat herder in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa. The mysterious hyperactivity of goats led to the discovery of coffee berries that provided extraordinary energy. Ethiopia back then was just a boat ride away to the Strait of Aden before going to Arabian Peninsula. So it came as no surprise that the Arabs tasted coffee and spread it throughout the Islamic world.

Tea in Han Dynasty

Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty

China is today’s largest producer of tea. Tea is one of most drank beverages and leveled equally with coffee. In China, a legend about the origins of tea is traced to one of its legendary Emperor Shennong. Tea, according to the legend, was a result of a coincidental falling of a dried camellia leaf to the boiling water of the Emperor. However, tea would only be exclusively to the Emperor until the age of the Han Dynasty which rule China from 206 BCE to 220 BCE. 

Divine Tea: Discovery of Tea by Shennong

Emperor Shennong

Tea is one of the oldest beverages that man invented. From England to Turkey, and to India, millions drink this scented water infused with different health benefits. In China, the biggest producer of tea, it is not just old but a gift from one of its legendary emperors, Shennong.

Aztecs Love for Chocolate

Aztec Woman mixing Chocolate

Chocolate is hunted by many sweet lovers. Beneath the dark color of this sweet, it gives color to many children, lovers, and anyone from all walks of life. Chocolate came from a bean known as a cacao. Today, the largest producer of cocoa bean is the country of Cote D’Ivoire in Western Africa. Although the largest producer came from the African continent, its roots of chocolate that popularized cacao are not in the continent. The beginnings of chocolate is across the Atlantic Ocean, to America.

Dancing Goats and Origin of Coffee

Illustration of Kaldi and his goats

The coffee industry generated billions of dollars of profit. A caffeinated drink that powered billions of men and women driving the economy forward. The Baltics states and the Netherlands consumed the most coffee with their citizens drinking about 4 cups of coffee every day. According to the International Coffee Organization, the worldwide production of coffee in 2013 amounted to over 169 million bags. The whole world's love for coffee began with some goats and an Ethiopian goat herder.

Louis XIV and Coffee

Louis XIV

Coffee ranked as one of the world's most drank beverages. Many countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and Ethiopia profited from meeting the world's need for a caffeine fix. France topped as one of the largest importers of coffee in Europe. Its love of coffee went back to the 17th century when only a few drank coffee, a far cry from its current status as a major consumer item. The powerful Ottoman Empire monopolized the coffee trade and only a limited amount arrived in Europe. It only entered the limelight of Europe when the Sun King of France, Louis XIV, encountered coffee.

Afternoon Tea: Beginings in Victorian Era

Anna Maria, Duchess of Bedford

Afternoon tea did not begin until the 1800’s. It was created to combat a sinking feeling of a duchess during the afternoons due to the time between meals. It then became a favorite past time for the nobles and then for the whole country.

Royal Trend Setting: Catherine Braganza and Tea in England

Catherine of Braganza

Social media today produces countless trends, from music, to video, to challenges, and finally to food. Culinary trends such as dalgona coffee and baked sushi owed much of their buzz from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Trends crosses boundaries faster than ever before – a hit in the Americas reaches Asia in a matter of days and even hours. But before the Information Age, trends travel slower with limited audiences. The role of influencers fell to royalties, such as the case of popularization of tea in England by Catherine of Braganza.