You might wonder who Baba Budan is and why I am so grateful to him. He is the reason for one of our greatest pop culture activities today. Not only has the culture grown in popularity in the past few years, it is still growing. Baba Budan is the hero who smuggled coffee out of Ethiopia and paved the way for its journey to the rest of the world. So, thank you, Baba Budan!

However, Baba Budan didn’t discover the coffee tree. The legend has it that Kelda, a goat herder in Abysinia, one day when he was half a sleep noticed that his goats were frolicking around a particular tree. The goats were dancing on their hind legs after eating some red berries growing on this tree. He tried the berries and became instantly wide-awake. Coffee houses were first seen in Mecca and they quickly turned into establishments where music, dancing and gossip could be enjoyed. Venetians brought the coffee to Europe and in 1645 the first European coffee house was opened in Venice. Today, coffee has grown to be one of the most important commodities in world trade. Millions of people, especially in developing countries, earn their living from the coffee industry. In 1995, more than 400 billion cups of coffee were consumed. Coffee is now the world’s most popular beverage and a world commodity second only to oil.

Coffee is today part of our lifestyle and culture. Coffee houses, cafés and bars are scattered across the country. Today, a Starbucks or any other of the many coffee houses or cafés can be found on many street corners. Coffee has become an important part of our social lives and coffee houses are gathering places for social activities.  According to the Yellow Pages, Nanaimo has around 20 coffee houses or cafés, but I’m sure there are many more. Web-cafés or Internet bars are popular gathering places today where coffee and computers are combined. In Europe, cafés are meeting places where people go to socialize, in many cases replacing pubs and restaurants. In Canada, coffee is still mostly served in a paper cup for people on the go. However, more and more cafés are popping up with the opportunity for people to sit down, relax and have a light snack. The newest addition to Nanaimo’s coffee scene is Starbucks, accommodated in Chapters at Woodgrove Mall.  They offer a relaxed atmosphere with the opportunity for their customers to browse through books and magazines.

Coffee has progressed from being served as just plain black coffee. Today, we have many different flavors as well as a wide variety of coffee drinks, with and without alcohol. Another thing that has changed or rather developed along with coffee’s development is the lingo. To be able to understand everything on a coffee menu today, you have to understand the language of coffee. The language is a big part of the coffee culture. Forget ordering a small, medium or large. Today, the proper way to order your desired size is to call it short, tall, or grande. Coffee lingo has become essential, follow the link if you want to  act like an expert next time you visit your favorite coffee house.  

The huge increase in the popularity of coffee has led to significant research being done regarding coffee's impact on humans and human health. Researchers have established that moderate consumption of coffee is in no way a health risk. Caffeine is the active substance you find in coffee. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and this results in behavioral effects like increased intellectual activity and learning ability. It will also give you a briefer reaction time to exterior stimuli and will effect you the most 15-45 minutes after ingestion. However, if you drink too much coffee, it can raise your blood pressure and your stress level. Drinking coffee might start to cause you trouble when you have a caffeine intake more than 10 milligrams per kilo weight a day (that is 550 milligrams for the average woman, and 700 milligrams for the average man). One question regarding coffee and health is asked more than any other question: is it safe for pregnant women to drink coffee and/or caffeine?  Most physicians and researchers today agree that it's perfectly safe for pregnant women to consume caffeine. However, moderate consumption is the key; a daily consumption of up to 300-400 mg/day (approximately two to three 8 oz. cups of brewed coffee) has been shown to have no adverse reproductive consequences. Some researchers suggest limiting caffeine consumption to near 200 mg/day (2 cups per day) if you want to be really safe. If you want to read more about coffee and health just follow the link.

Different generations have different attitudes towards coffee. People in the ages 20-29  are generally satisfied with the quality of coffee they are drinking and will most likely keep on drinking coffee in the future. They are also more accepting of alternatives to ordinary coffee: i.e., espresso, cappuccino etc. The next age group consists of people between the ages of 30-59. This group is also overall satisfied with the quality of coffee they are drinking but are generally less price conscious. They will also indicate that the amount of coffee they are drinking is just right for them.  The final age group is the people over 60. They are less satisfied with the quality of coffee they are drinking and are concerned about the medical reports about caffeine. They are more concerned about the price of coffee and are not big consumers of the variety of coffee available.                    

Every year different surveys are conducted to measure the trends in coffee consumption in North America. Here are a few samples of the results:

q       Over 54 % of the North American adult population drinks coffee every day.

q       Of these, at least 20 % drink some form of gourmet coffee such as Premium whole bean
      varieties, espresso-based (latte, espresso, café mocha, and cappuccino) or frozen and
     ice-blended coffee beverages.

q       Another 25 % of the population drink coffee on occasion.

q       Men drink more coffee than women on a per capita basis

q       The average coffee cup size is 9 ounces.

q       Women are more excited about coffee varieties and are more likely to indicate that drinking coffee helps them relax.

q       Women are more price conscious than men.

q       Men claim that coffee helps them “get things done.”

As of today, there is no reason to skip the delightful feeling of your favorite coffee beverage. However, remember that everything is best in moderate doses.