COFFEE AND TEA

Coffee


Coffee is the worlds most popular and consumed beverage. It is usually served hot prepared from the roasted seed of coffee beans. Its popularity has given birth to many kinds of instant coffee. The word coffee entered the English way back in 1598 from the Italian word “caffa” via the Turkish word “kahveh” through the Arabic word “qahwa”. The ultimate origin of the word is uncertain there being several legendary account of the origin of the drink.
Coffee is such a drink which is liked by all people irrespective of their age or geographical location. Coffee is made either hot or cold. The cold preparation of coffee is as popular as the hot one. You can have your coffee with or without milk or simply with some whipped cream to make it sinfully delicious.


Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world next to petroleum. The popularity of coffee can also be judged by the rising number of coffee pubs and cafes all over the world. People of all the age groups can be found hanging at such cafes enjoying their cup of coffee. In the morning, in the afternoon or in the nights the coffee house business does not stop.
Many researches have shown that coffee reduces the risk of a number of diseases and ailments like diabetes, gall stones, cirrhosis and many more. Coffee forms the chief source of stimulant caffeine in the human body. The good and bad effects of coffee are still being researched on. A cup of coffee, when you are really down, can make you more alert and boost your power of reasoning. Anything, including coffee, when taken in moderation does not have an adverse effect on your health.
Like cocoa and banana coffee is a tropical export that is produced almost exclusively in the rain forests of the developing world, but is mainly consumed in the wealthier nations. Fortunately more and more coffee drinkers are demanding that their favorite baristas serve coffee that is grown in a manner that protects and not destroys the rain forests.
Did you know that the farmers all over the world harvested 7.4 million tons of coffee in 2002 , an all time high , and almost double the amount harvested in 1960. It is also remarkable that one out of every five cups of coffee worldwide is consumed in the United States. Meetings are held, proposals are discussed, marriages are proposed, deals are finalized, and a lot more happens over the magical cup of coffee or java.

TEA


You can have it hot or cold, black or green, herbal or lemon; yes what we are talking about is tea. Tea is the most popular beverage worldwide. The discovery of tea was done in 2700bc by a Chinese emperor, also a scientist, Shen Nung. In the Indian and Japanese legend tea was supposedly discovered by a Buddhist missionary monk Daruma. Shen Nung had discovered tea when some leaves from the garden fell into his pot of boiling water resulting in a refreshing drink where as it is believed Daruma on being disappointed of himself for not being able to complete his nine year meditation had cut off his eyelids and thrown it on the ground from which originated the tea plant. It was the monkeys who were first trained to pick tea leaves.
Tea slowly gained popularity among the French and the Dutch, but due to its high cost remained a drink for the wealthy. With the passage of time and the increasing popularity different processes of brewing, preparing and drinking tea was evolved. Marquise de seven was the first to have mentioned the addition of milk to tea giving the drink a new dimension.
Tea was first taken to Europe by the Dutch in the 1600bc. In the 1700bc tea was first sold in a fashionable coffee house by Thomas. John Dorniman was the first to sell tea in nett weighed packets. The first European to write about tea was father Jasper De Cruz, in the year 1560, who tasted the drink at a missionary. The duchess of Bedford originated the custom of afternoon tea but the credit turning it into a pastime should be given to Queen Victoria.
Tea was originally grown in china and exported to Europe and other parts of the world. china emerged as the trader of tea . Due to the steep rise in demand and also to keep a check on the balance of trade the Europeans started looking for other places where tea could be grown .this search gave birth to the tea fields of India . Later Europe imported tea from India followed by Ceylon.
The history of tea also enhances our general knowledge. When we move back in time, we learn that the practice of tipping was developed in the tea gardens of England where a small wooden locked box labeled tips (to insure prompt service) was kept for its customers. Customers came and went by, years and centuries passed by, only to take to new heights the refreshing drink called Tea.