One of the most popular beverages, coffee also has the second-highest volume of global production.
There are a lot of us out there, and we all have our special relationship with coffee. Most consumers evaluate coffee purchases based on three criteria – cost, flavour, and brand recognition.
Let’s learn about coffee’s past and its origin before we dive into a list of the world’s greatest coffees.
History & Origin
Most experts agree that coffee’s origins may be traced back to Ethiopia. Around 800 A.D., an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi introduced the world to coffee.
His goats were behaving suspiciously when he went over. After eating tree berries, they felt energised. Kaldi gave the berries to a monk after sampling them and felt stimulated.
The monks said it was devil’s work and burned the berries. A divine perfume was produced, and the berries were swiftly swept off the fire and smashed into embers. They realised their mistake and put the berries in a jug with boiling water to preserve them. After drinking this delicious new concoction, the monks realised it kept them alert during midnight prayers.
Some Yemeni tales concerning coffee’s genesis are also well-known. The most renowned Yemeni coffee origins mythology differs from the Ethiopian version.
The Yemenite Sufi saint was in Ethiopia for spiritual reasons. He saw several excited birds devouring coffee plant fruit. He tried these berries after his long trek and found them energising.
However, Ethiopian coffee beans were likely transported to Yemen. After returning home, Yemeni merchants planted coffee plantations. After growing in Yemen, it spread to Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey by the 16th century. It was popular because it improved attentiveness and wakefulness, enabling people to pray more.
List of Some of the Best Coffees:
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee
The finest Yirgacheffe coffee beans have a medium to light body with a bitter, sweet flavour and fragrance. The wet-processed coffee is harvested between 5,800 and 6,600 feet above sea level.
Ethiopian Yirgacheffee has a lively energy, a strong, clean flavour, a rich floral scent, and a refreshingly crisp finish. While Ethiopian Harrars tend to be wild and jammy, Yirgacheffe coffees have brighter notes of flowery and citrus.
Civet or Luwak Coffee
Among coffees, Luwak is the rarest and most costly. The unusual manufacturing technique is the primary driver of the product’s high cost. It is made from the excrement of Indonesian palm civets, which contain coffee beans that have been partly digested by the animal. The poop of this little Civet might be incredibly valuable. During processing, the coffee bean’s outer covering is removed, and the remaining beans are thoroughly cleaned in preparation for roasting.
The lack of bitterness and the robust scent are immediately apparent. Its flavour is multifaceted, including chocolate and earthy sweetness.
Hawaii Kona Coffee
Arabica Typica is the popular name for what is technically described as the “species Arabica sub-species Typica.” There is no doubt about the exceptional quality of Kona coffee.
Unroasted Kona coffee beans have a waxy appearance and a bluish-green hue. Once roasted, the beans’ gently acidic flavour and silky texture become quite enjoyable. Kona Coffee is farmed on the Big Island of Hawaii, near the western slopes of Mauna Loa and Hualalai. Hundreds of coffee producers produce a total of around 2,000,000 pounds of Kona Coffee in its green, unroasted state.
Colombian coffee
The Huila area of Colombia produces coffee that is often regarded as the best in the world. The temperature, geography, and plenty of nutrients in the soil give the coffee beans cultivated here their unique flavour. The slower rate of development of coffee beans at higher elevations (up to 2,000 m) produces a more concentrated and sweeter flavour.
The Huila area of Colombia produces some of the world’s finest coffee, which is why it is so highly sought after.
Beyond these four, there are many other good-quality coffee available, including Jamaica coffee, Mocha, Costa Coffee, Dunkin, Ethiopian Harrar coffee, Folgers, Gavia Gourmet coffee, Nescafe, Tanzania Peaberry coffee, Bokar coffee, Death Wish Coffee, Espresso, Allegro Coffee, Americano, etc.
