Page 17 - IFV Issue 3 March 2023

Lifestyle

Being of a more academic frame of Growing Coffee. regions north of the Equator generally
mind than the goatherd, the mullah Coffee trees take three or four years harvest their crops late in the year, while
experimented with the berries and too mature. They bear fruit in rows along in the southern hemisphere coffee is
eventually hit on the idea of boiling their branches soon after the appearance harvested in spring.
them, turning raw fruit of the coffee tree of delicate white blossom which has a In the 1930s Francesco Illy developed
into a fragrant and delicious beverage. strong, jasmine fragrance. a machine that forced compressed air,
At first coffee was regarded as a The cherry like fruit of the coffee berry, rather than steam through coffee grounds.
wonder drug and was only consumed within which the beans, or seeds are stored, In 1945 ACHILLE GAGGIA invented the
in Yemen and Arabia on the advice of a appear green at first, gradually darkening spring-powered, piston-lever machine.
doctor. to a rich crimson. Arabica berries ripen in Both allowed the greatest amount of
However, coffee was too exciting to be six to eight months. Robusta berries ripen flavour to be extracted from the grounds
restricted to medical use for long. Many in six to three months longer. This allows so quickly that the coffee produced has no
saw it as a brain tonic. Other credited only one harvest a year, though Colombia time to become bitter.
coffee with stimulating religious visions and Kenya – with erratic wet and dry Coffee is increasingly earning scientist
and before long, coffee-houses had seasons, can have a secondary crop. approval. Studies continue to suggest that
spring up right in the heart of Mecca, Coffee harvest time vary according the beverage may have some beneficial
the holiest city in the Islamic world. to geography: those coffee-producing effects on health.

ORIENTAL COFFEE
(Serves 4).

Ingredients:
50 ml brown sugar.
Pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
25 ml coffee granules dissolve in 500 ml
boiling water.
1 slice orange and lemon.
50 ml cream.

Method:
Mix the sugar and spices.
Place the dissolved coffee, orange and
lemon slices in a small saucepan. Let it
stand over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the sugar to the mixture and stir.
Divide the cream and coffee into four
coffee cups and serve immediately.

The Villager • Issue 3 2023 • 15