by C. M. Erickson

Created on: August 08, 2008   Last Updated: February 02, 2012

Folklore surrounds the discovery of coffee. According to legend, a goatherd named Kaldi was wandering the countryside of Yemen, having a normal day, when he noticed his goats were acting far more perkily than usual. He discovered his goats had been eating a new berry off a tree, and picked a few for himself. He enjoyed the invigorating effects and passed on the discovery. Eventually enterprising monks figured out how to brew coffee to stay awake during extended prayer hours.

While the dancing goat theory may be far-fetched, coffee still traces its origin from Yemen and Ethiopia. People in the Middle East enjoyed coffee for years before it spread to Europe. The ports of Java and Mocha predominantly exported coffee to Europe when the coffee market opened there, explaining a few common nicknames for the beverage.

There are different qualities of coffee, much like there are different qualities of cars. Coffee beans have their Pintos and their Porches, with the price naturally reflecting the quality.

The lowest quality coffee is Robusta, Coffea canephora, used mostly in cheap, mass-produced coffee grounds found at super-sale locations. It is grown at low altitudes.

The highest quality coffee is Arabica, coffea arabica, yet there are even shades of quality within that grade.

The first Arabica coffee growing area is in sub-tropical regions, like Mexico, Zimbabwe, Brazil and Jamaica. In this area coffee is grown between 1800 and 3600 feet, and produces one coffee harvest a year. This coffee is considered the lower-grade coffee of the Arabica family.

The second Arabica coffee growing area is equatorial, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Columbia. They grow their coffee at 3,600 to 6,300 feet, and can often get two coffee harvests in a year. This coffee is considered the highest grade coffee available.

Some new variations of the Coffea arabica are emerging. The C. arabica var. typical, is the standard coffee tree that all variations emerge from. The second most popular variation of Arabica coffee is the C. arabica var. bourbon, which produces 20 to 30 percent more coffee than typical, and is grown between 3,500 and 6,500 feet. Bourbon coffee has a slightly different taste, and is considered as high quality as the typical variation.

Blue mountain variety coffee only grows in limited areas like Jamaica and Kona, Hawaii. It grows at high altitude, is famous for its flavor and is liked for its resistance to coffee berry disease. Both Jamaican blue mountain and Kona

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