Ukers - All about Coffee : a History of Coffee from the Classic Tribute to the Worlds Most Beloved Beverage

C ivilization, in its onward march, has produced only three important non-alcoholic beveragesthe extract of the tea plant, the extract of the cocoa bean, and the extract of the coffee bean.

Leaves and beansthese are the vegetable sources of the worlds favorite nonalcoholic table beverages. Of the two, the tea leaves lead in total amount consumed; the coffee beans are second; and the cocoa beans are a distant third, although advancing steadily. But in international commerce, coffee beans occupy a far more important position than either of the others, being imported into nonproducing countries to twice the extent of tea leaves.

Coffee is universal in its appeal. All nations do it homage. It has become recognized as a human necessity. It is no longer a luxury or an indulgence; it is a corollary of human energy and human efficiency. People love coffee because of its two-fold effectthe pleasurable sensation and the increased efficiency it produces.

Coffee has an important place in the rational diet of all the civilized peoples of earth. It is a democratic beverage. Not only is it the drink of fashionable society; it is also a favorite beverage of the men and women who do the worlds work, whether they toil with brain or brawn. It has been acclaimed the most grateful lubricant known to the human machine, and the most delightful taste in all nature.

No nonalcoholic drink has ever encountered as much opposition as coffee. Given to the world by the church and dignified by the medical profession, it has nevertheless had to suffer from religious superstition and medical prejudice. During the thousand years of its development, it has experienced fierce political opposition, stupid fiscal restrictions, unjust taxes, irksome duties; but, surviving all of these, it has triumphantly moved on to a foremost place in the catalog of popular beverages.

But coffee is something more than a beverage. It is one of the worlds greatest adjuvant foods. There are other auxiliary foods, but none that excels it for palatability and comforting effects, the psychology of which is to be found in its unique flavor and aroma.

Men and women drink coffee because it adds to their sense of well-being. It not only smells good and tastes good to all mankind, but all respond to its wonderful stimulating properties. The chief factors in coffee goodness are the caffeine content and the coffees natural oil, called caffeol. Caffeine increases the capacity for muscular and mental work without harmful reaction. The caffeol supplies the flavor and the aroma that indescribable exotic fragrance that woos us through the nostrils, forming one of the principal elements that make up the lure of coffee.

Good coffee, carefully roasted and properly brewed, produces a natural beverage that, for tonic effect, cannot be surpassed, even by its rivals, tea and cocoa. Here is a drink that 97 percent of individuals find harmless and wholesome, and without which life would be drab indeeda pure, safe, and helpful stimulant compounded in natures own laboratory, and one of the chief joys of life!