International Coffee Day

Today is the first ever International Coffee Day - about time too! Coffee has along and exotic history. Legend states its scarlet berries were nibbled by goats in Kenya and a resultant friskiness was noted by their goatherds who decided to give the coffee beans a try. From there to Arabia, whirling dervishes and coffee houses. The Arabica beans were boiled when sold for trade to avoid propagation. Later a plant was gifted to Holland. Louis XIV of France also received a plant. A series of passionate and sometimes desperate acts brought coffee to the rest of Europe, its colonies and then on to South America. Coffee has a good reputation when it comes to health benefits. Back in the 1970’s it was villified but now two good cups of coffee a day is considered beneficial and an aid to longevity. As for taste and method of preparation, this is often an ongoing quest. We were gifted a Whittard selection pack of ground coffee which ranges from Kenya, to Java and Monsoon Malabar and each have their own distinctive flavour and mood. We hope to offer tasting notes as we discover particular favourites – and then there is the whole adventure of grinding the beans to look forward to... So Happy Coffee Day! More information can be found at www.internationalcoffeeday.org and www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee