DailyCelestialChallenge Saturday - Agriculture (Cultivation of coffee, a magic grain)

rafagonzalezlp (25)in #celestialchallenge • 7 years ago

Note: @sirknight started a contest and its daily theme's are:

Coffee trees (Coffea) are a genus that contains around one hundred specific taxa and infraspecific accepted, 1 of the almost 400 described plants of the family Rubiaceae, native to South Asia and subtropical Africa. They are cultivated extensively by their seeds that are used, ground and roasted, for the elaboration of coffee, a stimulating drink; The popularity of this makes the economic importance of the coffee tree is extraordinary, being one of the most important plant products in the global market.

The coffee probably originated in present-day Ethiopia, although other studies point to Yemen. Coffee became popular around the 13th century as a stimulant drink, possibly following the Islamic prohibition against alcoholic beverages. For several centuries its cultivation was kept in secret; the first description of the data file of 1583, by the German botanist Leonhard Rauwolf. Shortly afterwards, in 1650, his cultivation was introduced in India through a pilgrim back from Mecca with a handful of schools.

European settlers spread the plant in America to supply the demand in Europe. Although substitutes were tried, such as chicory root (Cichorium intybus) to partially supply the need for import, the demand did not stop increasing.