Coffee

Coffee is a stimulant plant. A cup of coffee starts with the bright red fruits of the coffee plant. The seeds of these fruits are the coffee beans, which are roasted and then used to prepare coffee. This page provides some basic information about coffee, together with some coffee photos, coffee proverbs, and coffee recipes, but separate pages are available for Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee.

Basic information on coffee

Scientific name:	Coffea sp.
English:	Coffee
Dutch:	Koffie
Dutch:	Koffieplant
Spanish:	Café
Spanish:	Árbol de café
French:	Café
German:	Kaffee
German:	Kaffeestrauch
Italian:	Caffè
Other:	Buna (Ethiopian name)

Family:	Rubiaceae
Order:	Gentianales

Coffee species:	There are about 10 species of coffee. The 3 most commonly used are Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica), Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora), and Liberica cofee (Coffea liberica).

Uses:	Coffee is a stimulant. From ripe fruits the flesh of the berry is removed (usually by machine). The seeds (coffee beans) are then fermented to remove the slimy layer which still covers the bean. Then the beans are washed to remove fermentation residue and dried. The green seeds are then roasted before they are used to brew coffee. There are many different ways to brew coffee: boiled, steeped, or pressured.

Photos

Coffee red berries

Coffee berries

Proverbs and quotes

A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship.
And then there is coffee! (Dutch advertisement)
Coffee and love are best when they are hot.
Coffee and love taste best when hot.
Coffee from the top of the cup and chocolate from the bottom.
Coffee has two virtues, it's wet and it's warm.
Coffee is our bread. (Ethiopian proverb)
Coffee is to wake up, coffee is to work with, coffee is to live with, coffee is life.
Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water.
Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
Conscience keeps more people awake than coffee.
Everybody needs something to believe. I believe I'll have another cup of coffee!
Instant Human: Just Add Coffee.
Is there life before coffee?
This is coffee of yesterday. If you want coffee of today, please come back tomorrow.
Too much coffee is bad for my health. I don't know if it will kill me, but if it does I hope to come back as a coffee pot.
You can't take the milk back from the coffee.

Quotes

Coffee is a beverage that puts one to sleep when not drank. (by: Alphonse Allais)
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat. (by: Alex Levine)
Black as the devil, Hot as hell, Pure as an angel, Sweet as love. (by: Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand)
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity. (by: Dave Barry)
I like my coffee strong and my women weak. (Alexander Pappas)

Recipes

Irish coffee

Ingredients:
1 cup hot coffee, 45 ml Irish whisky, 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons whipped cream

Instructions:
Mix coffee, whisky and sugar together in a mug or glass and put the whipped cream on top.