What does it require to change habits and preferences? We’ve been talking a lot about wine and how it seems to be falling out of favour with younger generations – predominantly because of the focus on health. The same happened with bread some time ago. Bread is often seen as a culprit when it comes to weight management, gluten intolerance, gut health, etc. And then there is coffee. Going from strength to strength, coffee created a completely new lifestyle in South Africa. How did that happen?
At the La Motte Bakery, we have been talking about making proper bread popular again. While discussing our awareness campaign and how to change the PR for bread, the conversation turned to coffee. Over the last two decades, South Africa has seen a coffee revolution. Growing up, many of us knew coffee only as instant brown granules or powder, stirred into boiling water. I remember those coffee cans and cannisters of my childhood. Ads were all about the fresh roast flavour and rich aroma – click here for a trip down memory lane.
With specialist coffee shops, trendy trucks and a variety of coffee options from almost any menu you open, it is hard to imagine us going back to the days of instant coffee. How did this change in preference come about for coffee in South Africa? Was there a well-orchestrated campaign from coffee brands? Did more exposure to international trends and the culinary evolution we’ve seen in restaurants make us a little more sophisticated? How did we change our palate to enjoy and appreciate the much more complex flavour of the coffees we drink today?
I don’t think there is any going back to the days of kitskoffie. Our kids grow up with parents grinding beans and brewing fresh coffee, taking a longer route to pick up a cup from their favourite shop, and schools even have coffee stations or trucks where pupils can order a flat white or espresso. Beautiful machines grind and hiss to prepare steaming cups with exotic names and very specific ratios of coffee, water and milk. How did we get to know so much about coffee? Did you ever attend a coffee appreciation class, a coffee tasting or a coffee and cake pairing? Did you research coffee to determine its effect on your health and wellness? How did we one day stop buying instant and invest in an (expensive!) coffee machine? It can’t all be attributed to George Clooney and Nespresso, can it?
I think wine and bread can take a few pages from the coffee book, but perhaps one should read the coffee book first. How much do you know about the story of coffee? I thought I was informed, but recently found that coffee has a richer and more exciting tale to tell than what I imagined. Coffee has a very interesting and old history, but there is so much more. From varieties to brewing techniques, the personalities of roasters and baristas, as well as the variety of styles and recipes. What is our perception of coffee when it comes to health and wellness? How price sensitive are we? How much of coffee culture is fashion or trend? And how much is real interest and enjoyment?
I studied winemaking, understand the intricacies of wine from the vineyard to the shop to the table and have been sharing my joys and woes, travels and times with wine over the last decade or so on Hein on Wine. Perhaps coffee is a natural next phase, but I invite you to join me and discover a little more about coffee, and perhaps we’ll find that lesson for wine along the line.
Information today is just a Google away, but if you have never googled the history of coffee, here we go:
The history of coffee is rich and spans several centuries, from the coffee forests of Ethiopia to the cup you are probably sipping on right now. Legend goes that coffee was discovered around the 9th century by an Ethiopian goat herder, named Kaldi, who observed that his goats became particularly energetic after eating the berries from a certain tree.
From Ethiopia, coffee spread to the Arabian Peninsula and by the 15th century, it was being cultivated in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the 16th century, it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. Similar to wine, coffee is more than a beverage, and since its early days, it has served a social role. Coffee wasn’t only enjoyed at home, but also in public coffee houses, called qahveh khaneh, hubs of social activity and communication.
In the 17th century, coffee began to spread to Europe, and although initially referred to as the “bitter invention of Satan”, it became popular, with the first English coffee house established in Oxford in 1650. By the mid-17th century, coffee houses were flourishing across Europe. New York’s coffee culture started in the mid-1600s, but tea continued to be the favourite hot drink in the New World until 1733. It is said that the event of the Boston Tea Party changed the American drinking preference to coffee forever.
Coffee cultivation spread to the Americas during the 18th century when the Dutch, French and Spanish established coffee plantations in the Caribbean as well as central and South America, specifically Brazil, which has been the world’s largest coffee producer since the 19th century.
Through technology and innovation, coffee became increasingly popular. Instant coffee was introduced in the early 20th century, making coffee even more accessible and affordable, while the rise of Starbucks and similar coffee shops late in the same century elaborated on coffee’s initial social attribute while also making it fashionable.
Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day, making it one of the world’s most traded commodities. More than its cultural significance, coffee plays an exceptional role in the global economy. I can’t wait to learn more.