Unit 56 All About Coffee I 个性咖啡（上）

Part 1 The History of Coffee 咖啡起源

    The history and development of the beverage that we know as coffee is varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political intrigue, and the pursuit of wealth and power.

    According to one story, the effect of coffee beans on behavior was noticed by a sheep herder from Caffa Ethopia named Kaldi as he tended his sheep. He noticed that the sheep became hyperactive after eating the red "cherries" from a certain plant when they changed pastures.

    He tried a few himself, and was soon as overactive as his herd. The story relates that a monk happened by and scolded him for "partaking of the devil's fruit." However the monks soon discovered that this fruit from the shiny green plant could help them stay awake for their prayers.

    Another legend gives us the name for coffee or "mocha." An Arabian was banished to the desert with his followers to die of starvation. In desperation, Omar had his friends boil and eat the fruit from an unknown plant. Not only did the broth save the exiles, but their survival was taken as a religious sign by the residents of the nearest town, Mocha. The plant and its beverage were named Mocha to honor this event.

    Originally the coffee plant grew naturally in Ethopia, but once transplanted in Arabia was monopolized by them. One early use for coffee would have little appeal today. The Galla tribe from Ethiopia used coffee, but not as a drink. They would wrap the beans in animal fat as their only source of nutrition while on raiding parties. The Turks were the first country to adopt it as a drink, often adding spices such as clove, cinnamon, cardamom and anise to the brew.

    Coffee was introduced much later to countries beyond Arabia whose inhabitants believed it to be a delicacy and guarded its secret as if they were top secret military plans.

    Transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations was forbidden by the government. The actual spread of coffee was started illegally. One Arab named Baba Budan smuggled beans to some mountains near Mysore, India, and started a farm there. Early in this century, the descendants of those original plants were found still growing fruitfully in the region.

    Coffee was believed by some Christians to be the devil's drink. Pope Vincent III heard this and decided to taste it before he banished it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying "coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it."

    Coffee today is grown and enjoyed worldwide, and is one of the few crops that small farmers in third-world countries can profitably export.

    目前咖啡在我们的生活中已是不可或缺的饮料，静寂的森林深处悄悄自生的咖啡，到底是如何被人们发现而广为世界各地所接受的呢？还有，如何开始栽培的呢？在无数的咖啡发现传说中，有两大传说最令人津津乐道，那就是“牧羊人的故事”与“阿拉伯僧侣”。

    十六世纪埃塞俄比亚有个牧羊人，有一天发现自己饲养的羊忽然在那儿不停的蹦蹦跳跳，他觉得非常不可思议，仔细加以观察，才明白原来羊吃了一种红色的果实。

    于是他便拿着这种果实分给修道院的僧侣们吃，所有的人吃完后都觉得神清气爽；据说此后这种果实被用来做提神药，而且颇受医生们的好评。

    一二五八年，因犯罪而被族人驱逐出境的酋长雪克·欧玛尔，流浪到离故乡摩卡很远的瓦萨巴( 位于阿拉伯 )时，已经饥饿疲倦到再也走不动了，当他坐在树根上休息时，竟然发现有一只鸟飞来停在枝头上，以一种他从未听过，极为悦耳的声音啼叫着。

    他仔细一看，发现那只鸟是在啄食枝头上的果实后，才放开喉咙发出美妙的啼声的，所以他便将那一带的果实全采下放入锅中加水去熬煮。之后竟开始散发出浓郁的香味，喝了一口不但觉得好喝，而且还觉得疲惫的身心也为之一振。于是他便采下许多这种神奇果实，遇到病人便拿给他们熬成汤来喝，最后由于他四处行善，故乡的人便原谅了他的罪行，让他回到摩卡，并推崇他为「圣者」。

    所有的历史学家似乎都同意咖啡的诞生地为埃塞俄比亚的咖发 ( Kaffa )，至于咖啡这个名称则是源自于阿拉伯语“Qahwah”，即植物饮料的意思。

    后来咖啡流传到世界各地，就采用其来源地“Kaffa”命名，直到十八世纪才正式以“coffee”命名。

歌曲欣赏：千百惠---走过咖啡屋

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