A Brief History                            

Coffee is the world's most popular beverage after water, with over 400 billion cups consumed annually. The coffee bean comes from an evergreen tree grown in a narrow subtropical belt around the world. The three major growing regions are: Latin America and the Caribbean Islands, Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and Indonesia.

In the 1700's, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.

Espresso, a recent innovation in the way to prepare coffee, obtained its origin in 1822, with the innovation of the first crude espresso machine in France. The Italians perfected this wonderful machine and were the first to manufacture it.   | Next Topic