Shipping Story of Coffee

Espresso with boiled water is called Americano, right? What about the first coffee shop in the world? Do you know where and when it was opened? If you think you are a coffee geek, think twice. By the way, the answer is İstanbul, 16th century.

 

Can you imagine a life without coffee? Most people can’t because coffee lifts our bodies and brains to the wonders of each day. So how the plant which grew in very few countries be dominant in our lives that much? Let’s get aboard to learn the history of shipping coffee beans.

 

History of Coffee

 

 

Maybe you read it on your local favourite coffee shop’s walls. But let us narrate it again.

 

Our story begins in the Ethiopian highlands in the 9th century, when Kaldi, a curious goat herder, observed something strange. The berries of a red plant and his typically quiet goats were dancing while eating them. Curious, Kaldi tried the berries for himself and experienced an unexpected energy boost, a renewed alertness that added entertainment value to his afternoon.

 

When Kaldi brought the berries to a nearby monastery to share this finding, the head monk, who was dubious of this “devil’s fruit,” threw them into a fire with rage. However, a compelling aroma was generated while the fruit was cooked. The first cup of coffee was made when the monks, intrigued, took out the roasted beans, crushed them up, and dissolved them in hot water. Than, the tale of coffee began.

 

 

Coffee beans first exported to Yemen. Coffee crossed the Red Sea and arrived in Yemen during the 15th century, when it developed itself in the port city of Mocha (also the namesake of the mocha coffee). Coffee was welcomed by Yemeni people for its taste as well as its capacity to improve spiritual concentration during their prayers.

 

Coffee started its trip outside of Yemen. In order to preserve their coffee plants from being grown elsewhere, the Arabs only exported roasted or boiled beans. This however, was not too good to keep for very long.

 

First Coffeeshop in İstanbul

 

 

The clatter of dockside metal and the words of traders filled the air over the Golden Horn. Amidst the confusion, a wooden merchant ship slipped her moorings, full of something unusual. Coffee beans carried out of Yemen’s hills, were a cargo that would change the nights and days of everyday life in Istanbul.

 

In the 16th century, the first coffee shop in history opened its doors in Tahtakele quarter in Istanbul, during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. Coffee history continues to have an impact on there. Where first coffeshops in the world opened, Tahmis Street, named after ‘tahmis’ meaning ‘dried coffee’, is still filled with the smell of coffee beans brought from all over the world and freshly cooked Turkish coffee.

 

It’s fascinating to think about the thrills when coffee beans first arrived in the Ottoman. The coffeehouses of Istanbul became centers of social and intellectual life, places where people from all walks of life gathered to exchange ideas and enjoy their kahve. The ritual of Turkish coffee, complete with fortune-telling from the coffee grounds, became an art form.

 

Even today, fortunetelling from coffee grounds is quite popular.

 

Among the coffee types, Turkish coffee stands out in style. Turkish coffee is brewed with very finely ground beans. Türkiye is still an important part of the coffee geography.

 

Coffee on European Ships

 

Java is a familiar word for coffee lovers. The word “Java” refers to coffee since the Dutch smuggled live coffee plants from Yemen in the 1600s and grew them in their colonies, especially Java, Indonesia.

 

Coffee was brought to the Caribbean by the French, who did the same. Coffee spread across Central and South America from a single plant that King Louis XIV received as a gift.

 

Latin America saw a boom in coffee production in the 18th century, especially in Brazil, which would later become the world’s greatest producer. Plantations appeared in the Caribbean, Central America, and Colombia. The beverage that once danced its way from the hills of Ethiopia became a vital component of world culture and drives economies.

 

Today’s Coffee Trade

 

 

Modern coffee export is dominated by a belt of countries straddling the equator—aptly called the “Bean Belt”—where the altitude, climate, and rainfall create perfect conditions for Coffea arabica and Coffea robusta. Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia lead the charge.

 

Brazil is one of the kings in terms of coffee export. This massive South American country contributes around 30% of the world’s coffee supply, shipping more than 60 million bags a year. The Port of Santos handles one-third of Brazil’s coffee exports. Beans are sent in climate-controlled containers after being painstakingly processed and laser-sorted.

 

Specializing in robusta, the sturdy, bitter cousin of arabica, Vietnam has exploded onto the coffee scene in recent decades. Think instant coffee or the midnight espresso shot that keeps your eyes pried open, that’s likely Vietnamese. Exports flow primarily from the southern ports of Ho Chi Minh City, their robust beans bound for factories across Europe and the U.S.

 

The delicate, velvety flavour of Colombian beans is well regarded. Ripe cherries are hand-picked by small farmers in the Andes and transported to ports such as Cartagena and Santa Marta. In order to ensure that every bean retains a trace of its mountainous origin, the nation’s coffee export is an intricate collaboration between tradition and innovation.

 

Logistics and Obstacles

 

 

Every cup has a complicated logistical network behind it. Coffee beans set out on a journey around the world, vulnerable to market speculation, weather, and geopolitics. Beans are kept cool and dry by modern ships with advanced sensors. Coffee containers are loaded onto enormous ships that are headed for Europe, Asia, and North America in busy ports like Santos and Ho Chi Minh City.

 

However, there are still risks associated with the industry today. Global supply systems can be as erratic as the markets they service, and climate change puts yields at risk. Prices can skyrocket in response to a single Atlantic storm or a political crisis in a major port.

 

Issues in coffee production and logistics are related to the size, scope and length of the process. The coffee supply chain starts at coffee growers. However, it should be noted that manufacturing regions may be located in mountainous and difficult-to-access locations. Coffee harvesting is highly rural, particularly in Brazil and Colombia, and no mechanization exists. Road conditions in these locations are poor, with regular landslides causing delays.

 

Also, it should be mentioned that coffee is not a year-round business. In general, in the northern hemisphere coffee is harvested in the winter and exported in the spring, bringing fresh coffee from these locations in early summer. On the other hand, coffee in the southern hemisphere is typically harvested in the summer and exported in the fall. That makes planning even harder yet unpredictable weather patterns lead to irregular harvests and it can delay shipping schedules.  

 

Exporting coffee requires navigating a tangle of documents, including certificates of origin, and quality inspections. Phytosanitary clearances refer to the plant’s health and it also takes time to justify. Documentation mistakes can jeopardise a cargo and can cause a lack of stock and price increases in the markets.

 

Green coffee beans can be kept for months if properly stored, but roasted beans have a substantially shorter shelf life. Temperature and humidity management during shipment is vital. Errors in storage may cause loss of aroma and flavour or spoilage.

 

The coffee industry has been the target of much criticism for its impact on global warming, the issue of deforestation (most of the countries with the highest deforestation rate are coffee producers), workers’ rights and the fair distribution of labour.

 

Most of the environmental damage is caused by the production of sun-grown coffee. For this reason, shade-grown coffee has been tried to be transformed into a sustainable alternative in recent years.

 

Most Expensive Coffee Beans

 

 

Not all beans are equal. Kopi Luwak, the world’s most expensive coffee, is sourced from the, shall we say, digestive efforts of the Asian palm civet. These small mammals feast on ripe coffee cherries, and their digestive enzymes supposedly impart a unique, less acidic flavour. The beans are then… extracted, cleaned (thankfully), and roasted. A cup of it can cost up to 100 dollars.

 

Then there’s Black Ivory coffee, another entrant in the luxury market. This time, elephants are the unwilling intermediaries. Their fermentation process produces an expensive beverage.

 

Never forget, innovation can straddle the bounds of insanity in the world of coffee.