Photo © Steven Foster
Introduction
Coffee is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 22 feet and has dark green, glossy, leaves. At the base of the leaves, clusters of white flowers bloom in autumn and late summer. The coffee shrub produces red, round, two-seeded berries, commonly called beans.1,2,3 Native to tropical Africa, coffee is currently grown in Central and South America, Hawaii and the West Indies.1,3 History and Cultural Significance
In the early fifteenth century, the coffee shrub was introduced to Arabia from Abyssinia (Ethiopia).2 For the next two centuries, Arabia supplied the world’s coffee.At the end of the seventeenth century, a coffee plant was introduced to Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia) by the Dutch. Louis XIV of France was presented with a coffee plant in 1714. Supposedly, all coffee from Brazil is from that single plant.2 Coffee was thought to be a folk remedy for asthma, flu, fever, headache, jaundice, migraine, malaria, kidney disease, opium poisoning, sores and dizziness.4 The Arabians consumed the pulp from a fermented drink while the Indonesians and Malaysians use the dried leaves to prepare an infusion.4 Historically, coffee was used externally for scalds and burns1 or as a deodorant when combined with iodine.4 Internally, coffee was used for nausea and vomiting,1 as a brain stimulant and diuretic, and to help ward off comas caused by snake bites.2 Monks would use coffee to stay awake during extended hours of prayer.5 The unripe coffee seeds are traditionally used in Ayurvedic (traditional Indian) medicine for headaches.1 Coffee is a source of caffeine found in various drinks and is used as a flavoring in candies, ice cream, liqueurs, and pastries.1 Coffee contains chlorogenic and caffeic acids that give it its antioxidant properties.6 Modern Research
Recent pharmacological studies have been performed on Coffea arabica; however, there are no current clinical studies on its external or internal use. Future Outlook
The overproduction of coffee is driving the prices to an all time low.7 However, organic coffee sales are now higher than sustainable coffee sales,8 presumably because consumers are more aware of the value of organic produce than they are of the value of sustainability. In the United States, organic coffee is the fastest growing segment. Since 1993, it has been growing at a rate of 25% per year.8 References
1 Bown D. The Herb Society of America New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2001. 2 Grieve M. A Modern Herbal. Vol I. New York: Dover Publications;1971. 3 Rinzler, CA. The New Complete Book of Herbs, Spices, & Condiments. New York: Checkmark Books; 2001. 4 Duke JA. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Vol 1. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 1985. 5 Coffee. Coffeeresearch.org. 2001. Available at: http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/history.htm. Accessed February 21, 2005. 6 Vaughan JG, Judd PA. The Oxford Book of Health Foods. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2003. 7 Scholer M. Bitter or Better Future for Coffee Producers? International Trade Forum. 2004;2:9-12. Available at: http://www.intracen.org/mds/sectors/coffee/forum_en.pdf. Accessed February 24, 2005. 8 Chapman, KR. Introduction to the First Regional Round-Table on Sustainable Organic and Specialty Coffee, Production Processing and Marketing. Available at: http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/003/x6938e/x6938e05.htm. Accessed on February 23, 2005.
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