Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species. All fruit must be further processed from a raw material—the fruit and seed—into a stable, raw product; un-roasted, green coffee. To process the berries, the seed is separated from the fruit to produce green coffee. Green coffee is then roasted, a process which transforms the raw product (green coffee) into a consumable product (roasted coffee). Roasted coffee is ground into a powder and mixed with water to produce a cup of coffee.
Coffee is darkly colored, bitter, slightly acidic and has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is one of the most popular drinks in the world, and can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk or cream are often used to lessen the bitter taste. It may be served with coffee cake or another sweet dessert like doughnuts. A commercial establishment that sells prepared coffee beverages is known as a coffee shop (not to be confused with Dutch coffeeshops selling cannabis).
Clinical research indicates that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial as a stimulant in healthy adults, with continuing research on whether long-term consumption reduces the risk of some diseases, although some of the long-term studies are of questionable credibility.
HISTORY
According to one legend, ancestors of today’s Oromo people in a region of Kaffa in Ethiopia were the first to recognize the energizing effect of the coffee plant. However, no direct evidence that has been found earlier than the 15th century indicating who among the African populations used it as a stimulant, or where coffee was first cultivated. The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who discovered coffee when he noticed how excited his goats became after eating the beans from a coffee plant, did not appear in writing until 1671 and is probably apocryphal.
Another legend attributes the discovery of coffee to a Sheikh Omar. According to an old chronicle (preserved in the Abd-Al-Kadir manuscript), Omar, who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer, was once exiled from Mocha in Yemen to a desert cave near Ousab (modern-day Wusab, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Zabid). Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery but found them to be too bitter. He tried roasting the seeds to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the seed, which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this “miracle drug” reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return and was made a saint.
Historical transmission
View of Mocha, Yemen during the second half of the 17th century
The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century in the accounts of Ahmed al-Ghaffar in Yemen. It was here in Arabia that coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed, in a similar way to how it is prepared now. Coffee was used by Sufi circles to stay awake for their religious rituals. Accounts differ on the origin of the coffee plant prior to its appearance in Yemen. From Ethiopia, coffee could have been introduced to Yemen via trade across the Red Sea. One account credits Muhammad Ibn Sa’d for bringing the beverage to Aden from the African coast. Other early accounts say Ali ben Omar of the Shadhili Sufi order was the first to introduce coffee to Arabia. According to al Shardi, Ali ben Omar may have encountered coffee during his stay with the Adal king Sadadin‘s companions in 1401. Famous 16th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Hajar al-Haytami notes in his writings of a beverage called qahwa developed from a tree in the Zeila region. Coffee was first exported out of Ethiopia to Yemen by Somali merchants from Berbera and Zeila in modern-day Somaliland, which was procured form Harar and the Abyssinian interior. According to Captain Haines, who was the colonial administrator of Aden (1839–1854), Mocha historically imported up to two-thirds of their coffee from Berbera-based merchants before the coffee trade of Mocha was captured by British-controlled Aden in the 19th century. Thereafter, much of the Ethiopian coffee was exported to Aden via Berbera.
By the 16th century, coffee had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. The first coffee seeds were smuggled out of the Middle East by Sufi Baba Budan from Yemen to the Indian subcontinent during the time. Before then, all exported coffee was boiled or otherwise sterilised. Portraits of Baba Budan depict him as having smuggled seven coffee seeds by strapping them to his chest. The first plants grown from these smuggled seeds were planted in Mysore.
Coffee had spread to Italy by 1600, and then to the rest of Europe, Indonesia, and the Americas.
Health benefits and risks of drinking coffee
Medically reviewed by Katherine Marengo LDN, R.D. — Written by Joseph Nordqvist on July 10, 2019
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When people think of coffee, they usually think of its ability to provide an energy boost. However, according to some research, it can also offer some other important health benefits, such as a lower risk of liver cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure.
Worldwide, experts estimate that people consume around 2.25 billion cups of coffee per day.
Researchers have looked at the benefits of drinking coffee for conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver disease. There is evidence to support some, but not all, of these claims.
Coffee contains a number of useful nutrients, including riboflavin (vitamin B-2), niacin (vitamin B-3), magnesium, potassium, and various phenolic compounds, or antioxidants. Some experts suggest that these and other ingredients in coffee can benefit the human body in various ways.
This article looks at the health benefits of drinking coffee, the evidence supporting those benefits, and the risks of drinking coffee.
5 benefits of drinking coffee
The potential health benefitsTrusted Source associated with drinking coffee include:
- protection against type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, and liver cancer
- the promotion of a healthy heart
In the sections below, we cover these benefits in more detail.
1. Coffee and diabetes
Coffee may help prevent type 2 diabetes and some other conditions.
Coffee may help protect against type 2 diabetes.
In 2014, researchers who gathered data on over 48,000 people found that those who increased their coffee consumption by at least one cup per day over 4 years had an 11% lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who did not increase their intake.
A meta-analysisTrusted Source from 2017 concluded that people who drank four to six cups of either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee each day appeared to have a lower risk of metabolic syndrome, including type 2 diabetes.
2. Coffee and Parkinson’s disease
Various studies have shown that caffeine, which is present in coffee and many other beverages, may help protect against Parkinson’s disease.
One team concluded that men who drink over four cups of coffee per day might have a fivefold lower risk of Parkinson’s than those who do not.
In addition, the caffeine in coffee may help control movement in people with Parkinson’s, according to one 2012 study.
The findings of a 2017 meta-analysis suggested a link between coffee consumption and a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, even among people who smoke. This team also found that people who drink coffee may be less likely to experience depression and cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
There was not enough evidenceTrusted Source to prove that drinking decaffeinated coffee would help prevent Parkinson’s disease, however.
3. Coffee and liver cancer
Italian researchers found that coffee consumption lowers the risk of liver cancer by around 40%. Some of the results suggest that people who drink three cups per day might have a 50% lower risk.
Also, a 2019 literature reviewTrusted Source concluded that “coffee intake probably reduce the risk of liver cancer.”
4. Coffee and other liver diseases
A meta-analysisTrusted Source from 2017 concluded that consuming any type of coffee appeared to reduce the risk of liver cancer, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and cirrhosis.
People who consume coffee may also have a lower risk of gallstone disease.
In 2014, researchers looked at coffee consumption among people withprimary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). These are autoimmune conditions that affect the bile ducts in the liver.
They found that people with PSC were more likelyTrusted Source to have a lower coffee intake than those without the condition. There was no evidence to suggest that coffee intake was different among people with or without PBC.
Also, one 2014 study suggested a link between coffee consumption and a lower risk of dying from nonviral hepatitis-related cirrhosis. The researchers suggested that drinking two or more cups of coffee every day might reduce the risk by 66%.
5. Coffee and heart health
One 2012 study concluded that drinking coffee in moderation, or consuming around two 8-ounce servings per day, may protect against heart failure.
People who drank moderate amounts of coffee each day had an 11% lower risk of heart failure than those who did not.
One 2017 meta-analysisTrusted Source found that caffeine consumption may have at least a small benefit for cardiovascular health, including blood pressure.
Some studies, however, found higher levels of blood lipids (fat) and cholesterol in people who consumed more coffee.
Does decaf coffee have benefits or risks? Learn more here.
Nutritional value
Coffee is low in calories, but adding sugar and cream will change its nutritional value.
Regular black coffee (without milk or cream) is low in calories. In fact, a typical cup of black coffee only contains around 2 calories. However, adding cream or sugar will increase the calorific value.
Coffee beans also contain polyphenols, a type of antioxidant.
Antioxidants can help rid the body of free radicals, a type of waste product that the body naturally produces as a result of certain processes.
Free radicals are toxic and may cause inflammation. Scientists have found links between inflammation and various aspects of metabolic syndrome, including type 2 diabetes and obesity.
In 2018, some researchersTrusted Source suggested that the antioxidant content of coffee may offer protection from metabolic syndrome.
The author of one article from 2017 note that although scientists can prove that certain compounds are present in coffee beans, it remains unclear what happens to them once they enter the human body.
Mental health
One studyTrusted Source from 2016 concluded that a high intake of caffeine during adolescence can lead to permanent changes in the brain.
The scientists behind the study expressed concern that this could increase the risk of anxiety-related conditions in adulthood.
Night Owl Walker 