The Internationals' ABC of Coffee Quiz

Answer: True

The arabica plant, Coffea arabica, represents around 60% or the world's coffee production. It is endemic to Ethiopia and Yemen. Its use spread across the middle east, and, with the age of exploration, the cultivation of arabica coffee plants spread around the tropics of the world. Arabica coffee is more acidic and less bitter than the other common variety, robusta.

Topic by froghair2

Answer: Brazil

Coffee plants were introduced into Brazil in the 18th century and soon large areas of the rainforest were cleared for coffee production. By mid-19th century Brazil had become the world's largest producer of coffee.

Question by malama

Answer: Costa Rica

Coffee has been grown in Costa Rica since the eighteenth century, and it has been vital to the country's economy for many years. It is an important crop still, with Costa Rica producing about 1% of the coffee in the world. The Tarrazú canton in San José Province is known for the quality of its coffee, with a climate and terroir particularly suitable for growing the highly prized Geisha variety.

Question by Upstart3

Answer: Demitasse

The Demitasse cup usually comes with a matching saucer and spoon, sometimes even a small metal frame. Translated from the original French, the name means "half cup".

When I worked in a Greek restaurant, making the coffee was one of my responsibilities. All went well until the evening that a table ordered sixteen coffees at the same time, and I lost count of the number of scoops of grounds that I had put in the pan.

Question by lonely-lady

Answer: Ethiopian Sidama

Local legends in the Sidama region have it that a goatherd discovered coffee beans when his goats were very lively whenever they had eaten from the berries and didn't want to go to sleep. Sidama is one of the smallest Ethiopian states and situated in the south of the country.

Question by malama

Answer: French Roast

French Roast is roasted until the heat reaches 240C. Some other roast options include the Full City Roast (medium dark brown, tiny patches of oils, 225C), the Vienna Roast (moderate dark brown, light surface oil, 230), and the Italian Roast (almost black, very shiny, 245C). Unroasted the beans are greenish, and with rising temperatures the color becomes more yellow, then brown. The higher the temperature, the darker the brown. Due to the heat, first the moisture evaporates. At around 196C the beans crack a first time and start to enlarge. At 224C the beans crack a second time, and, due to continued inner pressure, the beans become much more brittle. The grade of roasting is one of the determining factors for the taste of the coffee.

Topic by froghair2

Answer: Guatemala

Guatemala was a large-scale producer and exporter of cochineal and indigo. When in the 19th century the market for these crops broke down due to the invention of chemical dyes, the new main export crop became coffee.

Question by malama

Answer: Hawaii

Coffee is grown in Puerto Rico and California, but the main production in the USA is in Hawaii, particularly in the Kona District on the island of Hawaii, aka Big Island. Kona coffee is prized by connoisseurs. The small town of Holualoa is a centre for production of some of the finest Hawaiian coffee.

Topic by froghair2

Answer: Irish Coffee

Irish coffee consists of hot coffee, sugar, Irish whiskey, and cream. The correct cream to top the coffee is heavy whipped cream - or more historically correct just thick, heavy cream. Definitely not the flimsy stuff out of a spray can. The coffee is sipped through the cream.

If you happen to be in San Francisco, looking for a nice after dinner treat, I suggest a ride with the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. There the Buena Vista Cafe specializes in Irish Coffee and tops it off with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Question by malama

Answer: False

The Dutch introduced coffee to their colonies in the East Indies in the 1600s. Java was an ideal place for producing coffee, with its perfect growing conditions. By the early 1700s Java was the most important site for coffee production in the world, and San Francisco merchants came to refer to coffee as Java. Coffee production was hit by a serious disease in the 1880s, and production had to move away from arabica to more resilient varieties. Java remains one of Indonesia's top centres for coffee production.

Topic by Pam1239

Answer: eaten and partially digested by palm civets

Yep, the coffee cherries containing the beans have already been eaten once. The traditional way to obtain the beans was to collect the feces of wild civets. But the demand of the coffee has become so great that now civets are kept in battery cages and are force-fed coffee cherries. No comment necessary!

Question by malama

Answer: double espresso with a little milk

Caffe Macchiato is an espresso, marked with a little milk. Equal parts espresso and foamed milk is a cappuccino (sometimes topped with cocoa powder or cinnamon). A tall glass of foamed milk with a shot of espresso is a Latte Macchiato. A Long Macchiato (and the right answer) is a double espresso topped with a little milk.

Topic by Pam1239

Answer: Elephant Bean

Maragogype coffee is a either a cross between Arabica and Liberica coffee or a spontaneous mutation of Arabica (Tipica) which originated in the Maragogipe region in Brazil. The beans are about 40% larger than the usual Arabica beans and the taste of the coffee tends to be very mild.

(Contribution by malama)

Answer: Nicaragua

Coffee is Nicaragua's number one export crop. The largest country of central America, its coffee production is centred around the highlands of Jinotega and Matagalpa. Enterprising coffee producers have experimented with coffee bean processing to produce innovative products.

Question by Upstart3

Answer: Oaxaca

The southern State of Oaxaca is known for producing high quality Arabica beans. The flavor profile includes chocolate, nuttiness, and fruit flavors. Much of the coffee is produced by small and medium scale farmers, environment friendly and organic.

Topic by froghair2

Answer: Peaberry

Usually, in each coffee fruit, there grow two coffee beans, facing each other and thus having one flat side. But about 5% of the fruit carry only one coffee bean which then grows rounder and is called a pea berry. To get a more even roast, the pea berries have to be hand sorted and roasted separately, but basically, they are of the same quality as the "normal" coffee beans.

Question by malama

Answer: True

Q-graders are professionally trained coffee tasters. The training provided by the non-profit Coffee Quality Institute includes comparing different coffees and distinguishing different taste elements.

Question by malama

Answer: True

Coffea canephora or Coffea robusta, which is commonly referred to as robusta coffee, accounts for around 40% of the world production. Compared with arabica, which covers the majority of the remaining world production, it is less acidic, more bitter and higher in caffeine. It is less highly regarded and used mainly for instant coffee or to fill out blends. Robusta's top producer is Vietnam, where it was introduced by the French colonial powers.

Question by Upstart3

Answer: Seattle

Starbucks was founded by a group of entrepreneurs, who first met at San Francisco University. At first, they chose the name "Starbo", because they thought that names beginning with "st" were strong names and then remembered the name "Starbucks" from the novel Moby Dick. Originally, they only sold high quality beans and coffee equipment, starting in Seattle in1971. Since then, the business has been sold several times and expanded the business model. The headquarters are still in Seattle.

Question by malama

Answer: True

That's true. For the proper preparation you need to bring water, very finely ground coffee and varying amounts of sugar to a boil in a cezve (small coffee pot). But keep your eyes on the pot or you might have to clean up a huge mess, as is starts to foam quite a bit when nearing the boiling point. The four recognized degrees of sweetness are "sade" (no sugar), "az sekerli" (little sugar), "orta sekerli" (medium sugar), and "cok sekerli" or "tatli" (really sweet). The grounds are not removed, so before drinking (or rather sipping) the coffee it is recommended to wait until the grounds have settled. Afiyet olsun!

Topic by froghair2

Answer: Japan

Canned coffee is big in Japan. It is sold in supermarkets and convenience stores and also widely from vending machines. Basic types are milk, which is usually sweet, and black - but usually there are quite a few options available. Since 1973 there are vending machines from which you can get not only cold, but also hot coffee, where the hot cans are continuously heated.

Question by malama

Answer: Venti

Starbucks has its own set of descriptions for coffee servings. Its second smallest size is "tall". Venti, from the Italian for twenty, is because the hot venti drinks are 20 fluid ounces in size. To confuse things further, cold ventis are bigger than that at 24 oz. For those who need longer drinks, they introduced the trenta, at 30 oz.

Question by Upstart3

Answer: Korean coffee shop in New York City

Wasabi Latte properly kicks you awake in the morning. Wasabi syrup, not paste, is either mixed with a shot of espresso and topped with milk foam (preferably soy milk for better taste) or mixed and foamed together with the milk and poured on top of a shot espresso. It was invented in a Korean coffee shop in the East Village of Manhattan.

Topic by froghair2, research by kevin1957

Answer: Australia

In Australia you can buy your coffee and snacks from the back of a station wagon. Xpresso Mobile Café is a franchise operation that provides coffee on the go across Australia.

Question by malama

Answer: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's coffee production is centred on Chipinge province, near the border with Mozambique. Zimbabwean coffee is medium bodied with a light acidic berry-like flavour. While not as sought after as Kenyan, it has started to become well regarded with coffee connoisseurs.

Question by Upstart3