Not surprisingly, the linguistic history of the word coffee parallels the trade route coffee followed as it was introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century. The French, Spanish, and Portuguese word for the beverage, cafe, the German kaffee, the Swedish and Danish kaffe, the Dutch koffie, and the Russian kophe all derive from the Italian name for the beverage, caffe. The Italian word, in turn, comes from the Turkish word kahveh, which the Turks derived from qahwah, an Arabic word that once referred to both coffee and wine. This Arabic name may have developed from an Arabic verb meaning to have no appetite, the connection being that these beverages were used to stimulate a healthy hunger. Alternatively, the Arabic name may have developed from Kaffa, an area in Abyssinia to which coffee is indigenous. In 1615, only a few years after the introduction of the word coffee itself, the term coffee-house appeared and soon became associated with the famous literary and political figures who patronized those establishments. Cafe, which is what the French have called a coffeehouse since the middle of the seventeenth century, was taken into English at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but within a hundred years had come to mean any casual restaurant. The French cafe is also the source of the word caffeine, which first appeared in 1830. The Spanish word, cafe, on the other hand, gave rise to the Spanish cafeter, meaning coffee-seller, the source of the word cafeteria. First recorded in 1839, cafeteria also contributed to the English language by establishing the teria suffix that has become a part of recent words such as groceteria and fruiteria—places that sell, respectively groceries and fruit—and washeteria—another name for a laundrette.
Caffeine-containing beverage made from the seeds of the coffee plant.
The beverage made from the seed of trees of the genus Coffea, called coffee beans. Coffee has a 2500-year history of consumption. It contains numerous volatile and nonvolatile compounds, including caffeine and cafestol. Moderate consumption of caffeine is not a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, birth defects, breast disease, or cancer.
An arboreal shrub, originating from Africa, that yields verdant beans. Following roasting and pulverization, these beans are utilized to concoct a favored beverage. Presently, numerous assortments are cultivated across the globe, including Brazil (accounting for roughly half of the world’s coffee production), Venezuela, Costa Rica, the East and West Indies, India, and numerous African nations. The coffee produced in Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Jamaica is notably superior, with Jamaican Blue Mountain garnering an especially lofty reputation.