Many sources agree that the journey of coffee began about a thousand years ago in Africa, more precisely, in the spectacular country of Ethiopia. According to the oldest coffee legend, a native goatherd, grazing his animals, noticed that they were particularly attracted to a grove of trees with sweetish red berries. After nibbling on them, the goats became more agile, and this pleasant effect of the berries was appreciated both by the goatherd and the villagers.
That is how the consumption of coffee as a stimulant emerged and began gradually taking root. Still, it took us many centuries to appreciate coffee berry seeds, their roasting, grinding, and, ultimately, the coffee ritual itself. Coffee took its time to arrive and be welcomed in developing Europe, the New World, and, of course, my native Lithuania. Nowadays, it is hard to recreate in detail the centuries-old coffee stories, yet, some information is still available, and I will attempt to tell them in a nutshell. As already mentioned, the most popular coffee legend goes back to 10thcentury Ethiopia, albeit, collecting material for this book, I came across various stories about coffee’s origins and legends from even earlier times. It is interesting to note that the earliest written records mentioning the coffee plant and coffee beverage come from the 15th-century Sufi monastery archives in Yemen. The adherents of this mystical branch of Islam used coffee as a sacred drink to focus on before prayers. This, in a way, influenced the coffee ban in countries that did not recognize Sufism. In Europe, too, coffee was for a long time regarded as the Devil’s black drink. The logic was simple – a foreign religion, and everything related to it, seemed intimidating.
The first coffee houses opened their doors in Yemen and soon spread to neighboring Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey. Time and again, Muslim cities would ban the dark beverage, possibly, because their coffee houses were constantly buzzing with opponent debates and ideas against the rulers of those countries.
Lithuania’s Coff
Like other European countries, coffee came to Lithuania at the end of the 16th century while the country was still a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, coffee became popular here only in the second half of the 17th century. In Lithuania, coffee, as well as other gastronomic novelties, was a huge rarity. When it first appeared, it was considered to be a medicine for all diseases.
Professor Rimvydas Lau!ikas, who has been researching the history of Lithuanian gastronomy, mentioned in our discussions a handwritten book from that time, Nam! vaistinėlė (Home Medicine Cabinet). Its author wrote that beanlike peas from overseas, roasted in the oven and ground to dust, had to be brewed with water and could be used to cure various illnesses: stomach and chest pains, headaches, blood disorders, diseases of the eye, and toothache. According to Lau!ikas, the author of the booklet incorrectly indicated the origin of coffee. It did not come from overseas, but from the Ottoman Empire. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth envoys mention in their reports how Turks received them with treats of coffee. However, the origin of coffee from the Ottoman Empire initially became an obstacle to the spread of the drink. It came down to an almost theological question: was a virtuous Catholic allowed to consume an Islamic beverage? A nice story aided the rehabilitation of coffee in our country.
The story goes that the popularity of coffee in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth started growing after a single historical event, pivotal for all of Europe. In 1683, a massive Ottoman army surrounded present-day Austria’s capital, Vienna. To relieve the city, among other forces, came the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army, under the command of an imposing personality, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jan Sobieski. Hussar regiments broke the Turkish defenses and forced the Turks to retreat and flee. The battle was won, Vienna was liberated. The Battle of Vienna was significant not only for political history but for culinary history as well.
Among those who distinguished themselves in the battle against the
Turks was a certain Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki. Legend has it that, after the victory, he was presented with large stocks of coffee beans left by the Turks and opened the first Kaffeehaus in the city, a forerunner of a modern café. From Vienna, similar institutions appeared in Poland and Lithuania. It is not known whether the story of J. F. Kulczycki is entirely true, but we can be certain that one of the victors of the Battle of Vienna, Jan Sobieski, was a great coffee lover, and, during his reign, coffee became popular in both Lithuania and Poland. The monarch’s love of the dark beverage passed on to aristocracy and, with time, to gentry and townspeople. And after the Battle of Vienna, coffee was no longer a threat to the Christian faith, especially when, in the 18th century, it began to be imported from the Netherlands and France.*
Heading from Vilnius to Utena, about 75 kilometers from the capital, we drive by what is now an inconspicuous village, called Kapanauza. It is a distant memory of the old ‘kaffeehaus’ that stood by an important 18th to19th century road from Vilnius to Riga. My wife and I visited this place, which has become rather symbolic for the Lithuanian history of coffee. Unfortunately, we could not find any buildings typical of a café, only a few private homesteads. Still, to enjoy the situation, we decided to make coffee ourselves and visit the onetime café at least informally.
Heading from Vilnius to Utena, about 75 kilometers from the capital, we drive by what is now an inconspicuous village, called Kapanauza. It is a distant memory of the old ‘kaffeehaus’ that stood by an important 18th to19th century road from Vilnius to Riga. My wife and I visited this place, which has become rather symbolic for the Lithuanian history of coffee.
Coffee Regions of the World
Coffee Regions of the World
The ideal conditions for coffee growing are found near the equator, often called ‘the coffee belt.’ The amount of sun and light there is the most predictable, and the average temperature and relative air humidity remain virtually unchanged throughout the year. This allows nearly 17 million farmers in more than 60 countries to engage in the coffee business. The world of coffee and farming traditions are incredibly diverse. Nevertheless, in this chapter, I will try to structure and present the three major coffee regions of the world – America, Africa, Asia – and their most expressive coffees.
America
When discussing American coffees, one should single out the crop yields of Central and South American farms. Most of the world‘s coffee comes from this region. These varieties have characteristic sweet, chocolatey, nutty notes, sometimes, in our context, simply called coffee-esque. Central American coffees from countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and El Salvador are usually slightly lighter and fresher than South American coffees. Those from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia have a notably richer flavor and longer-lasting finish.
I WOULD LIKE TO DESCRIBE IN BRIEF
SOME OF THE MOST DISTINCT AMERICAN COFFEES:
Guatemalan coffees, as already mentioned, have a lightness and special complexity. You should expect subtly bitter notes of chocolate or dark caramel, with the added freshness of oranges or other ripe citrus fruit.
Costa Rican coffees are typically light-bodied, impeccably sweet and have a distinctive freshness. It should be noted that Costa Rican farmers are increasingly willing to experiment with both coffee tree cultivation and bean processing. This allows connoisseurs to enjoy unique coffee flavors.
Salvadoran coffees are perfectly balanced. Their natural sweetness blends with barely noticeable and pleasantly soft acidity. El Salvador is also famous for the unique Arabica subspecies, Pacas. It was discovered on the coffee farm of Fernando Alberto Pacas.
Coffee
Roasting
Coffee roasting is nothing short of a magical process during which green and almost tasteless coffee pits turn into fragrant brownish complex-flavored beans. Freshly roasted coffee lures and delights your nose the most. Its aroma will be the most impressive of all the possible forms of coffee. Just like food cooked before your eyes and served on the table or a freshly picked colorful flower bouquet. And the fresher the coffee, the more charming the results.
The roasting process itself is quite basic. It takes heat and time, yet with enough attention and care, the coffee served will abound with sweet, fruity, and spicy flavors. There is no single perfect roasting method, and the spectrum of correct roasting is very broad. Every roaster can add something to it and, of course, adjust the roasting to different coffee tools and purposes.
In our coffee roastery, when preparing coffee for espresso machines, we roast the beans more slowly and slightly darker, while those for filter coffee tools are roasted faster and are of a lighter color. This is just a simplified explanation. We do not have a standard because, as already mentioned, I do not believe in one correct roasting formula. It’s like claiming that beetroot can only be prepared in one type of oven, at one temperature, and only for a strictly determined length of time. Every professional chef has their own opinion on beetroot preparation, and, no doubt, every chef is right. Likewise, when you are roasting coffee and trying to unlock its flavors. Coffee, like every other food, is not a lab product. Otherwise, it would be genuinely boring to work
The Nose Phenomenon
SPICES ROASTED INDUSTRIAL FRUITS
COFFEE AROMA GAMMA
We experience a variety of different taste sensations. Our mouths feel temperature, texture, weight, in other words, the coffee body. Our taste buds sense different levels of sweetness, acidity, bitterness, saltiness, or savory umami. Our olfactory system (nose and mouth) senses volatile and variable aromas. Thus, when describing taste, we usually speak or should speak about the harmony of different senses because this comprises taste as a whole. The olfactory system is connected to the area of the brain responsible for memory. This also affects the sense of taste, as it can evoke both pleasant and not so pleasant associations.
Here I would like to share a real story about a chatty guest at our coffee bar who briefly paused while drinking his coffee to exclaim that the drink reminded him of ... sprats – a kind of small canned fish in sunflower oil which is often consumed during Lithuanian festive days. Well, not the tastiest comparison, I thought. It sounds like a coffee defect, not a compliment. I asked whether this was actually a bad thing. The guest replied that, on the contrary, he had not eaten sprats for decades. But their flavor in the coffee had evoked the brightest memories of his family at the dinner table during Christmas. While pondering on this association, I realized that the Brazilian coffee he was drinking does, indeed, sometimes have the flavor and body of sunflower oil. Only I have never, personally, associated this with, hmm, sprats.
The Iconic Moka Pot
How to make coffee in a Moka Pot
A suggested ratio: fill the pot’s filter basket with coffee and add water to the bottom chamber up to the mark shown.
Grind the coffee beans. Use freshly roasted coffee and grind it just before brewing. For the Moka pot, I advise choosing a darker roast. This tool is for extremely hot brewing, and lightly roasted coffee can easily lose its subtle taste.
Add ground coffee evenly into the basket and do not press. It is important to grind it correctly. It cannot be too fine or too coarse. The coffee must not clog the filter, but also, the water should not seep through it too quickly. The nuances of coffee grinding are described in a dedicated chapter of this book.
Pour hot water into the lower chamber up to the small opening-valve. Hot water will heat the pot’s metal body, and the metallic taste, sometimes typical of Moka coffee, will disappear. Carefully screw on the top and place the pot on the stove. Be careful not to burn yourself while handling the pot, which is already hot from the boiling water.
4. 5. Turn on a moderate heat and wait patiently for the coffee eruption to begin.
The coffee should start slowly rising into the upper chamber, and you will see this by opening the lid of the pot. At this point, listen carefully and turn off the heat source as soon as you hear a bubbling sound. It means that most of the water has already seeped through the coffee. The drink will be tastier if you remove the pot from the heat in time and put a cool towel underneath to stop the coffee extraction.
The coffee is ready. Enjoy a delicious cup, ladies and gentlemen.
