The pleasure of coffee

The history of coffee goes at least as far back as the thirteenth century. It has been believed that Ethiopian ancestors of today's Oromo people were the first to discover and recognize the energizing effect of the coffee bean plant. The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who discovered coffee, did not appear in writing until 1671 AD and is probably apocryphal. There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the drink itself. One account involves the Yemenite Sufi mystic Ghothul Akbar Nooruddin Abu alHasan al-Shadhili. When traveling in Ethiopia, the legend goes, he observed birds of unusual vitality, and, upon trying the berries that the birds had been eating, experienced the same vitality. Other accounts attribute the discovery of coffee to Sheik Abou'l Hasan Schadheli's disciple, Omar. According to the ancient 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 to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubery, but found them to be bitter. He tried roasting the beans to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the bean, 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 Another story occurs in the Ethiopian highlands, where the legend of Kaldi, the goatherd, originated, coffee trees grow today as they have for centuries. Though we will never know with certainty, there probably is some truth to the Kaldi legend. It is said that he discovered coffee after noticing that his goats, upon eating berries from a certain tree, became so spirited that they did not want to sleep at night. Kaldi dutifully reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery who made a drink with the berries and discovered that it kept him alert for the long hours of evening prayer. Soon the abbot had shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and ever so slowly knowledge of the energizing effects of the berries began to spread. As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would spread its reputation across the globe. Today coffee is grown in a multitude of countries around the world. Whether it is Asia or Africa, Central or South America, the islands of the Caribbean or

Pacific, all can trace their heritage to the trees in the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. The word "coffee" entered English in 1598 via Dutch koffie. This word was created via Turkish kahve, the Turkish pronunciation Arabic qahwa, a truncation of qahhwat al-bun or wine of the bean. One possible origin of the name is the Kingdom of Kaffa in Ethiopia, where the coffee plant originated; its name there is bunn or bunna.

Production
The first step in Europeans' wresting the means of production was effected by Nicolaes Witsen, the enterprising burgomaster of Amsterdam and member of the governing board of the Dutch East India Company who urged Joan van Hoorn, the Dutch governor at Batavia that some coffee plants be obtained at the export port of Mocha in Yemen, the source of Europe's supply, and established in the Dutch East Indies the project of raising many plants from the seeds of the first shipment by 1719. Encouraged by their success, they soon had coffee plantations in Ceylon, Sumatra and other Sunda islands. Coffee trees were soon grown under glass at the Hortus Botanicus of Leiden, whence slips were generously extended to other botanical gardens. Dutch representatives at the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Utrecht presented their French counterparts with a coffee plant, which was grown on at the Jardin du Roi, predecessor of the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris. The introduction of coffee to the Americas was effected by Captain Gabriel des Clieux, who obtained cuttings from the reluctant botanist Antoine de Jussieu, who was loath to disfigure the king's coffee tree. Clieux, when water rations dwindled during a difficult voyage, shared his portion with his precious plants and protected them from a Dutchman, perhaps an agent of the Provinces jealous of the Batavian trade. Clieux nurtured the plants on his arrival in the West Indies, and established them in Guadeloupe and SaintDomingue in addition to Martinique, where a blight had struck the cacao plantations, which were replaced by coffee plantations in a space of three years, is attributed to France through its colonization of many parts of the continent starting with the Martinique and the colonies of the West Indies where the first French coffee plantations were founded.

The first coffee plantation in Brazil occurred in 1727 when Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta smuggled seeds, still essentially from the germ plasm originally taken from Yemen to Batavia, from French Guiana. By the 1800s, Brazil's harvests would turn coffee from an elite indulgence to a drink for the masses. Brazil, which like most other countries cultivates coffee as a commercial commodity, relied heavily on slave labor from Africa for the viability of the plantations until the abolition of slavery in 1888. The success of coffee in 17th-century Europe was paralleled with the spread of the habit of tobacco smoking all over the continent during the course of the Thirty Years' War (16181648). For many decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil was the biggest producer of coffee and a virtual monopolist in the trade. However, a policy of maintaining high prices soon opened opportunities to other nations, such as Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Indonesia and Vietnam, now second only to Brazil as the major coffee producer in the world. Large-scale production in Vietnam began following normalization of trade relations with the US in 1995. Nearly all of the coffee grown there is Robusta. Despite the origins of coffee cultivation in Ethiopia, that country produced only a small amount for export until the Twentieth Century, and much of that not from the south of the country but from the environs of Harar in the northeast. The Kingdom of Kaffa, home of the plant, was estimated to produce between 50,000 and 60,000 kilograms of coffee beans in the 1880s. Commercial production effectively began in 1907 with the founding of the inland port of Gambela, and greatly increased afterwards: 100,000 kilograms of coffee was exported from Gambela in 1908, while in 1927-8 over 4 million kilograms passed through that port. Coffee plantations were also developed in Arsi Province at the same time, and were eventually exported by means of the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway. While only 245,000 kilograms were freighted by the Railway, this amount jumped to 2,240,000 kilograms by 1922, surpassed exports of "Harari" coffee by 1925, and reached 9,260,000 kilograms in 1936. Australia is a minor coffee producer, with little product for export, but its coffee history goes back to 1880 when the first of 500 acres (2.0 km2) began to be developed in an area between northern New South Wales and Cooktown. Today there are several producers of Arabica coffee in Australia that use a mechanical harvesting system invented in 1981.

Illy Coffee
EVERY DAY, AROUND THE WORLD, MORE THAN 6 MILLION CUPS OF COFFEE ARE PREPARED USING ILLYCAFFS UNIQUE BLEND. Established in 1933 by Francesco Illy, the company produces and markets world-wide a single, leading-quality blend of espresso coffee, made using nine types of pure Arabica. From the balance of these ingredients from South and Central America, India and Africa arises the unmistakable flavour and aroma of illy coffee, always constant in every cup and in any part of the world. Currently, the blend is sold in 140 countries in all five continents and

is served in over 50,000 public restaurants and bars. In 2006, exports accounted for 54% of total sales. With the aim of assuring a complete and quality experience with the cup of coffee, illycaff has perfected a series of elements and instruments that contribute to a perfect taste: from systems for preparing coffee and coffee machines to coffee bars via the Espressamente illy chain of Italian style coffee bars in licensing to training of barmen and specialized personnel at the University of coffee. illycaff is based in Trieste and managed by the second and third generation of the Illy family: Ernesto, the founders son, is honorary chairman, and his son, Andrea, chairman. SCIENCE AND INNOVATION IN THE WORLD OF COFFEE Over the past 100 years, of the seven radical innovations to have revolutionized the manner of making, considering and tasting coffee, three have been introduced by illycaff. Two were invented by the founder of the company, Francesco Illy: the Illetta, the progenitor of todays espresso machines, produced in 1934, and pressurization, a system for packaging and preserving coffee in which the air inside a can is replaced with inert gases at above-atmospheric pressure, making it possible to export the coffee outside the zone of production. This was introduced in 1935. The third innovation, instead, dates from the 1970s: the first capsule of single-portion coffee, introduced with the aim of exporting espresso to countries in which the skills of the barmen in making espresso a critical variable in the achievement of excellence were lacking. The other innovations were: flexible packaging (multipack), decaffeinated coffee, freeze-dried coffee and liquid coffee.

Espresso coffee is a complex beverage made up of 1,500 chemical substances (of which 800 volatile), which must blend harmoniously to form a complete aroma, and over 13 chemical and physical variables, which affect the correct preparation. For this reason, the study and research applied to coffee and all the production processes from selection to preparation have been a strategic feature of the companys stance ever since its foundation. With a multidisciplinary approach that involves numerous areas of study, illycaff has become involved in scientific research geared to attaining excellence in quality. illycaffs Technological Research & Development division recognized internationally as a centre of excellence in the study of coffee consists of two research centers, one in Trieste and one at So Paulo in Brazil, and five laboratories: Aromalab, SensoryLab, Biolab, TechLab and FoodLab. THE PRODUCTION PROCESS While it takes fifty coffee beans to prepare an excellent espresso coffee, it needs only one bad one to ruin it. For this reason, constant checks are necessary: from the supply, selecting only the finest lots, to the processing undertaken by the company itself, during which the product undergoes 114 checks before being packaged. illycaff also has an electronic selection system for the coffee beans, which makes it possible to evaluate each single one, at the rate of 5,000 a second, eliminating any that are imperfect. These controls are in addition to the most sophisticated of the instruments: the palate of the companys sommeliers, who taste the different lots of product that will make up the illycaff blend. Every lot of coffee, before becoming illy coffee, is submitted to eight sensorial tasting. The processes used for the toasting, which is done after blending, the cooling by air and the pressurized packaging, make it possible to make a product with an intense aroma and balanced taste preserving all its flavors over time. Thanks to the care taken over its production processes, illycaff is the only foodstuffs company in the world to have obtained a double certification: the quality system on the basis of ISO 9001 regulations, and product conformity, in accordance with the regulations agreed with Qualit France. Its commitment to the environment has also been certified: in 2003, illycaff was awarded ISO 14001 environmental certification, and in 2004 EMAS registration, winning the EMAS Award in 2005 for its commitment to improving its performance with regard to all of the environmental aspects of the company.

LE MERIDIEN PARTNERS WITH IILYCAFF TO PROVIDE GUESTS THE ULTIMATE COFFEE EXPERIENCE
Coffee Culture Central to Le Mridien Guest Offering Le Mridien have partnered with illycaf s.p.a in a strategic and creative alliance, based on their mutual European roots, and shared commitment to excellence and passion for contemporary creativity. Illy and Le Mridien are also joined by their shared commitment to providing guests with unique experiences. Illycaf was founded in 1933 in Trieste, Italy by Francesco Illy and for three generations has lead the industry in innovation, technology and knowledge. illys focus is to produce and market world-wide a single, leading-quality blend of espresso, made using nine types of pure Arabica. It also takes a leading role in culture, literature, fashion, design and the arts. Le Mridien, which was founded in 1972 in Paris, is committed to providing its guests with enriching, cultural experiences in a new way. Focused on connecting guests with their passion for art, architecture, design, fashion, film and food, Le Mridien experience is one that is curated and rooted in its core values of CHIC, CULTURED, DISCOVERY. illys success is rooted in its passion for quality 50 perfect beans make a perfect espresso. Le Mridien, who aims to develop a unique culture around coffee, took this drive for quality as the basis for developing the first unique marketing programme around coffee, called 50 words, 50 beans This programme aims to stretch guests imaginations and literary prowess as a creative coffee inspired

challenge which invites guests to scribe a short story using only 50 words, aided by the inspiration and energy from 50 beans of illy coffee. Care and attention must be paid to every bean and every word, and the result can be rich and perfect. Stories can be submitted to www.lemeridien.com/fiftywords.com and will be published on the website. Le Mridien Vienna, Le Mridien San Francisco, Le Mridien Bangkok and Le Mridien Amman are the first hotels to pilot this product partnership. They will offer guests the opportunity to discover illy coffee throughout the hotel. Le Mridien associates will be specially trained and certified to serve the signature Italian-style coffee beverages, ensuring that illys passion for quality is preserved. Eva Ziegler, Senior Vice President, Le Mridien Brand, said, Having illy as our product partner is beneficial for both sides, but having an exclusive marketing partnership will deliver truly unique and special experiences to our guests. Jrme Sans, Cultural Curator, Le Mridien, said, illy is a bridge between taste and art and shares the values which are being developed in the new, curated Le Mridien environment. ABOUT LE MERIDIEN Le Mridien brand, currently represented by approximately 120 properties in 52 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in November 2005. With close to 70 percent of its properties located in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, Le Mridien provides a strong international complement to Starwoods primarily North American holdings. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Mridien-branded hotels within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China. For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com.