Coffee

Coffee
TypeUsually hot, can be iced
Country of origin Yemen[1]
Introduced15th century
ColorBlack, dark brown, light brown, beige
FlavorDistinctive, somewhat bitter
IngredientsRoasted coffee beans

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks.[2]

The seeds of the Coffea plant's fruits are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The beans are roasted and then ground into fine particles typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out, producing a cup of coffee. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Though coffee is now a global commodity, it has a long history tied closely to food traditions around the Red Sea. The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking as the modern beverage appears in modern-day Yemen in southern Arabia in the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines, where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed in a manner similar to how it is now prepared for drinking.[3] The coffee beans were procured by the Yemenis from the Ethiopian Highlands via coastal Somali intermediaries, and cultivated in Yemen. By the 16th century, the drink had reached the rest of the Middle East and North Africa, later spreading to Europe.

The two most commonly grown coffee bean types are C. arabica and C. robusta.[4] Coffee plants are cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa. As of 2023, Brazil was the leading grower of coffee beans, producing 35% of the world's total. Green, unroasted coffee is traded as an agricultural commodity. Despite sales of coffee reaching billions of dollars worldwide, farmers producing coffee beans disproportionately live in poverty. Critics of the coffee industry have also pointed to its negative impact on the environment and the clearing of land for coffee-growing and water use. The global coffee industry is massive and worth $495.50 billion as of 2023.[5] Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia are the top exporters of coffee beans as of 2023.

  1. ^
    • Ukers WH (1922). All About Coffee. Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company. p. 5.
    • Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1967. p. 25.
    • Elzebroek AT (2008). Guide to Cultivated Plants. CABI. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-84593-356-2.
  2. ^ "Global Hot Drinks Market Size, Share | Industry Trends Report, 2025". www.grandviewresearch.com. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wein34 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "A Guide To Different Types Of Coffee Beans, Roasts & Drinks". 13 August 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ "33+ Buzzing Coffee Industry Statistics [2023]: Cafes, Consumption, And Market Trends". Zippia. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.