Jonathan Morris - Coffee: A Global History

COFFEE

Edible

Series Editor: Andrew F. Smith

EDIBLE is a revolutionary series of books dedicated to food and drink that explores the rich history of cuisine. Each book reveals the global history and culture of one type of food or beverage.

Already published

Apple Erika Janik Banana Lorna Piatti-Farnell

Barbecue Jonathan Deutsch and Megan J. Elias Beef Lorna Piatti-Farnell

Beer Gavin D. Smith Berries Heather Arndt Anderson

Brandy Becky Sue Epstein Bread William Rubel

Cabbage Meg Muckenhoupt Cake Nicola Humble

Caviar Nichola Fletcher Champagne Becky Sue Epstein

Cheese Andrew Dalby Chillies Heather Arndt Anderson

Chocolate Sarah Moss and Alexander Badenoch

Cocktails Joseph M. Carlin Coffee Jonathan Morris

Corn Michael Owen Jones Curry Colleen Taylor Sen

Dates Nawal Nasrallah Doughnut Heather Delancey Hunwick

Dumplings Barbara Gallani Edible Flowers Constance L. Kirker

and Mary Newman Eggs Diane Toops Fats Michelle Phillipov

Figs David C. Sutton Game Paula Young Lee

Gin Lesley Jacobs Solmonson Hamburger Andrew F. Smith

Herbs Gary Allen Herring Kathy Hunt Honey Lucy M. Long

Hot Dog Bruce Kraig Ice Cream Laura B. Weiss Lamb Brian Yarvin

Lemon Toby Sonneman Lobster Elisabeth Townsend

Melon Sylvia Lovegren Milk Hannah Velten Moonshine Kevin R. Kosar

Mushroom Cynthia D. Bertelsen Nuts Ken Albala Offal Nina Edwards

Olive Fabrizia Lanza Onions and Garlic Martha Jay

Oranges Clarissa Hyman Oyster Carolyn Tillie Pancake Ken Albala

Pasta and Noodles Kantha Shelke Pickles Jan Davison Pie Janet Clarkson

Pineapple Kaori OConnor Pizza Carol Helstosky

Pomegranate Damien Stone Pork Katharine M. Rogers

Potato Andrew F. Smith Pudding Jeri Quinzio Rice Renee Marton

Rum Richard Foss Salad Judith Weinraub Salmon Nicolaas Mink

Sandwich Bee Wilson Sauces Maryann Tebben Sausage Gary Allen

Seaweed Kaori OConnor Shrimp Yvette Florio Lane

Soup Janet Clarkson Spices Fred Czarra Sugar Andrew F. Smith

Sweets and Candy Laura Mason Tea Helen Saberi Tequila Ian Williams

Truffle Zachary Nowak Vodka Patricia Herlihy Water Ian Miller

Whiskey Kevin R. Kosar Wine Marc Millon

Coffee

A Global History

Jonathan Morris

REAKTION BOOKS

My parents, Anne and Graham Morris, taught me little about coffee, but much about life, and this book is dedicated to them with love.

Published by Reaktion Books Ltd

Unit 32, Waterside

4448 Wharf Road

London N 1 7 UX, UK

www.reaktionbooks.co.uk

First published 2019

Copyright Jonathan Morris 2019

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers

Page references in the Photo Acknowledgements and
Index match the printed edition of this book.

Printed and bound in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

e ISBN 9781789140262

Contents

Coffee is a global beverage. It is grown commercially on four continents, and consumed enthusiastically in all seven: Antarctic scientists love their coffee. There is even an Italian espresso machine on the International Space Station. Coffees journey has taken it from the forests of Ethiopia to the fincas of Latin America, from Ottoman coffee houses to third wave cafs, and from the coffee pot to the capsule machine.

This book is the first global history of coffee written by a professional historian. It explains how the world acquired a taste for coffee, yet why coffee tastes so different throughout the world. From the beverages first appearance among Sufi sects in fifteenth-century Arabia, through to the specialty coffee consumers of twenty-first-century Asia, this book discusses who drank coffee, why and where they drank it, how they prepared it and what it tasted like. It identifies the regions and ways in which coffee was grown, who worked the farms and who owned them, and how the beans were processed, traded and transported. It analyses the businesses behind coffee the brokers, roasters and machine manufacturers and dissects the geopolitics behind the structures linking producers to consumers.

Regional Distribution of Global Coffee Production (%)

The distinctions between commodity and specialty coffee, and the ways these determine the transformations that coffee undergoes from seed to cup, are the subject of the opening chapter of the book.

The history of coffee is divided into five eras. Coffee first served as the Wine of Islam, cultivated on Yemens mountain terraces and traded among the Muslim peoples around the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Europeans turned it into a colonial good during the eighteenth century, compelling serfs and slaves to plant it in places as far apart as Java and Jamaica.

Coffee was transformed into an industrial product in the second half of the nineteenth century as the rapid expansion of output in Brazil nurtured the development of a mass consumer market in the United States. After the 1950s, coffee became a global commodity as Africa and Asia regained a significant share of world trade by planting Robusta, a hardier, but harsher-tasting species, used in cheaper blends and soluble products. A movement to recast coffee as a specialty beverage began as a reaction against commodification at the end of the twentieth century. Its transnational success may result in the fifth era of coffee history.

Steampunk coffee machine. This unique machine was built from a variety of upcycled components to create a talking piece for the 2017 London Coffee Festival. At its heart is a cold drip coffee maker that takes eight hours to produce 1 litre of coffee.

The coffee trade operates with a multitude of definitions and units of measurement. Historical data sets are rarely comparable, so rather than imposing a false unity, the book presents statistics in the form they were originally produced. Macro comparisons, calculated using multiple sources, are intended to convey the direction and scale of change, and numbers should not be regarded as definitive.

Grab a cup, turn the page, and enjoy your journey through coffees global history.

The anatomy and morphology of the coffee plant.

Seed to Cup