The Beginning of Instant Coffee |
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History of Coffee: The Beginning of Instant Coffee |
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In 1906 an Englishman in Guatemala began the development of a
powdery instant coffee, a product which would prove useful both to
consumers, especially the American soldiers fighting abroad in both
World Wars, and to producers. It showed its worth to the latter when
the Brazilian coffee mountain of the 1930s resulted in coffee being
burned as fuel and even jettisoned into the sea until it was
realized that it could be turned into instant coffee. Such coffee
today accounts for about 90 per cent of the coffee market in United
Kingdom. Connoisseurs may decry instant coffee, but the demand for soluble coffee has been a gift for many Third World countries. The original coffee plant, Caffea Arabica, as its name suggests, was found in eastern Africa and the Arabian peninsula. This was the species propagated and transported to plantations around the world during the colonial period. Today, however, there are numerous other coffee species, but only one other has widespread commercial use, and that is the coffea canephora, commonly known as Robusta. First discovered growing wild in the Belgian Congo in the 1870s, Robusta coffee differs in many ways from arabica , and these differences are critical to its geographical and commercial success. It is hardy and prolific and grows at sea-level, so Robusta is perfect plant for many flat, tropical regions of the world which are unable to grow Arabica because of their low altitude. Also being strong in flavor and body, and having almost double the caffeine content of Arabica, Robusta, while not everyone's ideal taste, stands up to the rigours of instant coffee processing. It blends well with lesser amounts of the more expensive Arabica, which also ensures it popularity with instant coffee producers. |
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