Earth rotates thanks to coffee! He takes the second place in popularity among drinks, second only to tea (to be precise, then the third, although it is unlikely that water is involved in the competition of drinks). It is not surprising that in almost every country there is a special way to prepare this fragrant drink, as well as its use. Today, even in small towns there are institutions where the price of a cup of coffee starts at 200 rubles. And although the knowledge about coffee is no longer a secret, accessible only to true connoisseurs, but has been opened even for ordinary people, there are places in the world in which "coffee ceremonies" today amaze and delight.
When it comes to drinking coffee, it can be just charging with a drink at any gas station, or having a pleasant time with friends in coffee shops with specially made cups. But you can get experience that completely changes your life and turns you into a coffee lover. For those who really want to go to the next level, most-beauty offers five coffee stories from around the world!
1
Experience the traditional coffee ceremony in Ethiopia
As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is a true starting point for true coffee lovers. Agree, you would not start a world tour of the best pizzerias from Portugal or look for the origins of cooking borsch in Sweden.
According to one of the Ethiopian legends about the origin of coffee, the first coffee was found by an ordinary shepherd, who noticed that his goats became incredibly cheerful just by eating small berries, similar to cherries, from a neighboring tree. The shepherd took a few "cherries" and brought them to the monastery, telling the clergyman about the stimulating effect of berries. Without thinking twice, he threw them into the fire in order to quickly destroy them. But, as soon as the unforgettable aroma of roasted coffee came out from the fire, no one could resist.
These coffee cherries are nothing but arabica. This is a type of coffee, from which today about 75% of coffee products are produced worldwide.
Ethiopia still has a huge stratum of world coffee supplies, while a huge part of the coffee produced is consumed by the inhabitants of the East African country.
If you believe the book “Where Wild Coffee Grows,” Ethiopia’s population of about 100 million people drinks about 230 thousand tons of coffee annually. At the same time, they do not drink coffee on the go from cardboard or plastic cups, as is customary with us.
In the country there is a whole ritual of drinking. First, the coffee beans are roasted in an open pan, filling the air with the incredible smell of roasted coffee. Then the grains are crushed and boiled in a clay vessel called jeben, along with incense and myrrh.
When the coffee is brewed, it is served in one large cup, filled to the brim, for several people. Of course, no cream or milk is added to coffee. This is one of the oldest coffee traditions in the world.
Often, ceremonies are held in private homes with invited guests. If you ended up in Ethiopia but didn’t receive an invitation, such events are held regularly in the capital Addis Abbe. To do this, you should look into the Garden of Coffee coffee shop, whose address is sweet for any Russian person, since it is located on Pushkin Street.
The area of the Coffee Garden is about 1 thousand m², and this is literally a garden. Customers can stroll among the coffee trees and choose which kind of coffee they want to get. Grains are immediately fried in any frypot selected by the visitor. The coffee shop is very popular due to the blurred boundaries between choice and preparation of coffee. Many connoisseurs are so attached to certain trees that they select grains only from them.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an informative article about the most popular sights of Ethiopia.
2
Choose and fry the grains with the Hawaii roasting master
At the mention of the Hawaiian Islands, the imagination draws pictures of excellent beaches, however, if we are talking about Hawaiian coffee, then it is worth mentally transferring yourself to the mountains.
Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation is located in the Kona area of the Big Island, the island's most famous coffee maker. The highest point of the plantation is located at an altitude of about 1 thousand meters, which is 60 meters above the point that was previously considered the highest place for cooking food. However, this height is ideal for growing amazing coffee.
Mountain Thunder offers guided tours to learn how to grow, harvest, grind and sort coffee in Kona. And also you can try your hand as a roast master, engaged in coffee roasting.
This profession is in the top 10 among all the vacancies in the field of food production. Under the supervision of an experienced professional, you can roast coffee cherries, bringing them into a state of excellent beans, ready to make coffee.
3
Watch death over a cup of coffee in Thailand
In the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, there is a cafe that invites visitors to "die" before drinking a life-giving drink filled with caffeine. In Kid Mai Death Awareness, the area is divided into zones, in one of them you can plan your funeral, in the other there is a real coffin, where you can climb in to sip a drink received at a discount. But remember, the coffin lid will be closed! This place is specially created for those who say that they will die without a morning cup of coffee.
By all accounts, Kid Mai Death Awareness is more an art than a classic cafe. It personifies Buddhist teachings and philosophy. It was founded by Veranut Rojanaprap, an assistant professor at St. John's University in Bangkok. According to the owner, it reduces greed and anger, making people realize that one day they will disappear.
Fortunately, a fake death awaits you in the cafe, because the lid of the coffin opens after 3 minutes, which is enough for you to enjoy the drink. In Death Awareness you will find “Last Day” espresso or “Another Year Passed” latte, as well as other types of coffee with thematic names.
4
Learn the art of latte art with the best barista from Italy
The foam latte design has gone from a simple coffee dot to latte art patterns worthy of the best Instagram posts. All kinds of patterns are now applied to coffee, many of the pictures you can see in photos on your friends' social networks. But all these pictures will not be needed if you learn how to create latte art yourself.
The espresso academy in the beautiful Italian city of Florence offers everyone to take a course in latte art, which will introduce people to the basics and some of the tricks of creating a design for coffee with milk foam. A one-day workshop will teach you to draw on the foam a heart, a bear, a dragon, a rosette and a couple of types of tulips.
If you are not going to become a barista in the near future (although courses on their training are held along with latte-art workshops) or do not want to surprise your friends with acquired abilities, then you can just visit the Academy of Espresso to taste delicious coffee of various varieties. After all, where else can you do this if not in the homeland of the most popular coffee drinks?
5
Have the rarest cup of coffee in the world
Did you know that the rarest coffee in the world passes through the digestive system of an elephant? Black Ivory coffee is produced in Bangkok (the capital of Thailand surprises with its approach to the drink). At one of the stages of production, Arabica coffee cherries are given as food for elephants.
Arabica undergoes a partial digestion process, and after the cherries leave the opposite side of the elephant (especially sensitive ones, please move away from the monitors), they are sorted and dried. According to the manufacturers of the most expensive coffee, in the process of digestion, stomach acid destroys coffee proteins, which give the drink bitterness, as a result of which the taste of coffee turns out to be incredibly soft.
If you watched the film “Until I played in the box”, then you’re already a little familiar with coffee obtained by defecation. Morgan Freeman’s character makes fun of Jack Nicholson’s hero by telling him that his favorite Copy-Luwak coffee is made by sorting the excrement of musang, an animal living in the jungle.
In reality, things are a little different. In 2013, a scandal erupted when rumors spread about the bullying that Kopi-Luvak producers subjected animals to, locking them in cages and force-feeding arabica beans. Demand has fallen, but the idea that pre-digested coffee tastes better is still alive.
BlackIvory coffee makers take pride in ethical care for their elephants and sponsor the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. This adds to the popularity of Black Ivory, and allows people buying it to participate in the conservation of elephants while drinking this sort of coffee.
However, elephant excrement is not a cheap pleasure. Black Ivory is only available in a limited number of five-star hotels, and the cost of 35 grams is $ 66. According to most-beauty, this allows people to appreciate his taste even more. We hope you can continue the list of our coffee stories by writing comments at the bottom of the article.