February Flavors

Warm yourself up this february with some of your favorite winter specials.

Returning favorites this year are the French Kiss Latte. A delicious blend of french vanilla and dark chocolate. And the Red Satin Latte, heartwarming white chocolate and raspberry. A new favorite introduced to the menu this year is the Cinnamon White Mocha Latte, with the comforting flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon and decadent white chocoloate.

Stop into the Leaf and Bean this month and treat a loved one to a warm winter treat!

The History of Coffee

Coffee had it's start in Ethiopia, where in 800 A.D., a goatherd named Kaldi noticed his herd exhibiting unusual energy after grazing on berries from a coffee bush. Kaldi tried some of the coffee cherries for himself and discovered its energizing effects.

Nearby monks who witnessed Kaldi and his goats, picked some of the berries for themselves and found that eating them made them more alert to their connection with god.

Beans were first put through the roasting and brewing process around 1000 A.D. in Arabia. The beverage made from soaking the beans in hot water was called qahwa, a truncation of qahhwat al-bun which translates to wine of the bean. Consumption of alcohol as a beverage was prohibited by tradition in Islam and coffee was provided as an alternative. From Arabia, the coffee brew was spread where ever the Islam religion went. The coffee trade was kept strictly under Arabian control by parching or boiling the beans before export, making them infertile for planting. This lock on the industry was held strong until the 1600s when an Indian pilgrim left Mecca with unparched beans strapped to his belly with a cloth. His smuggled beans began agricultural expansion all over India, Africa, and eventually European Colonies.

Introduction to the European Colonies started with a Turkish trader that brought the black drink to a merchant of Venice in 1615. From there the drink spread across Europe, but trading the beans was not enough, they wanted control of the market from the production level.

The Dutch were the first to bring a coffee plant to Europe. In 1696 they were the first to start a European owned coffee estate in the Indonesian colony of Java. Some refer to coffee from Java as the "most coffee of coffees". Today the port still produces it's fine quality coffee and you can try some of it at the Leaf and Bean as Mocha Java, a single origin coffee.

In 1714, the Dutch bestowed a coffee tree gift on Louis XIV to be grown in the Royal Botanical Garden. A naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu requested clippings from the king's tree to transport to Martinique where he was stationed. He envisioned Martinique becoming the rich coffee port that Java had become. The clippings were denied, and as a result, Babriel Mathieu raided the Jardin des Plantes and made off with the coffee plant. He transported the coffee plant by boat back to Martinique. The crossing was full of problems stemming from jealous passengers trying to get a piece of the plant for themselves. In addition to threats on board, Pirates nearly captured the the ship, and a storm nearly sank it. At one point rations on board became scarce and a large portion of the fresh water was set aside to sustain the plant.

Once safely on shore in Martinique, the plant grew strong under armed guard and over 50 years sprouted 18 million trees and started the coffee industry of Latin America.

It was Brazil, however, that brought the drink from indulgence to every day. The coffee industry of Brazil got it's start from a Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta who was sent to French Guiana who plied the Governor's wife into giving him a bouquet of flowers with coffee seedlings hidden inside.

With the spread to Brazil, what is known as the "Coffee Belt" was completed. The coffee belt follows the equator around the globe highlighting the mountainous warm areas that produce the worlds coffee.

Upcoming Music

We have some great blues coming up in the next two months!

Saturday, February 9th at 8:00pm
Cactus Soul

Saturday, March 15th at 8:00pm
The Debbie Kendrick Blues Band

Welcome!

Welcome to the Leaf and Bean Coffee Co. blog.

At The Wired Bean we will be posting upcoming music and events at the bean. here you will also be the first to hear about new seasonal coffees, drinks, treats and specials.

Regular postings will answer all of your coffee and tea questions. We will be sharing all of our coffee knowledge and passing our coffee passion on to you. Hopefully you'll discover something of interest in the world of coffee!

We would also love to use this space to hear feedback from our customers. Suggestions, questions and comments are always welcome!