I love Brazil – A coffee log

As I sit here at 6 in the evening, sipping a cup of coffee, I just realize how important Brazil is to us, or at least me. I’ve been having a hectic schedule for the last few days. We had a mass gathering organized at our institute for professional development and research. 


As the chief organizing secretary of the event, my job starts at 6am coordinating the preset and then when the event starts at 8, ensure its smooth conduct until its wound up at 8 in the evening. After a 5 day marathon, we are about to call for the conclusion ceremony in about 2 hours.


You must be wondering why I like Brazil So much. It’s not because of its beautiful sun-kissed beaches nor Samba dancing and bossa-nova music. Not even because of Ronaldo and Pele for the best in the word football skills. It’s for the delicious, aromatic coffee that I m enjoying right now on my table.


Yes, I’m a coffee lover and a connoisseur. I just can’t even imagine a day in my life pass without a cup of coffee. And these few days, if not for that 236.5 millilitres (that’s the exact volume of my cup) of this aromatic drink, I would have been drained out by 4 in the evening every day.


History of coffee traces back to Ethiopia. We can’t miss the association of coffee with goats too. When a few rearing goats had coffee berries, their Sheppard found them to be more active and brisk. They then thought of trying it out themselves and that’s how coffee came into man’s diet.


Ever heard of coffee berry? That’s the fruit from which we get coffee beans. The bean when dried, peeled, roasted and ground we get coffee powder. Coffee can be of two types. Majority of the world drinks ARABICA (mild, aromatic and low on caffeine). The other variety is ROBUSTA (harsh, bitter and high in caffeine).


Espresso is the crude blend of coffee. You get that when boiling water is allowed to flow over finely powdered coffee bean. It is this espresso that forms the base for majority of your coffee drink you order at a café. And if its espresso you like, you are probably having the highly concentrated form of coffee.


Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. The first in the list is petroleum products. I’m not sure if a similar crisis would strike with coffee trade as with petroleum. A study says 80% of the workers, at least once a day, depend on coffee to stay more alert and concentrate at work. If coffee crisis occur, I presume, it will ultimately lead to manpower crisis.


Before I conclude this post, let me tell you why I love Brazil so much. Today Brazil is responsible for about a third of all coffee production, making it by far the heavyweight champion of the coffee-producing world. And those hardcore coffee lovers like me should be grateful to this country for if they reduce their export by a mere percentage, we might end up facing a huge economic strain as with petroleum.


OOps! I finished my coffee.

2 comments:

  1. 236.5 milliliters - LOL

    i am a total tea lover, had written a post on it too. http://sujathasathya.blogspot.com/2010/04/ek-garam-chai-ki-pyali-ho-remember.html

    btw, i so envy you because you got the opportunity to travel & visit an exotic country like Brazil

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  2. thnx and I'll surely visit that post.

    ReplyDelete