How humanity got hooked on coffee - Jonathan Morris

Translator: Aubrey Cheng Reviewer: Thomas Tam

One day around 850 CE, a goatherd named Kaldi observed that,

公元850年某日 牧羊人 Kaldi 注意到

after nibbling on some berries, his goats started acting abnormally.

當佢啲山羊咬咗啖莓果後， 佢哋啲行為開始怪怪哋

Kaldi tried them himself, and soon enough he was just as hyper.

Kaldi 自己都試食咗 冇幾耐都覺得好興奮

This was humanity’s first run-in with coffee—

呢個就係人類首次遇上咖啡——

or so the story goes.

據說係咁

When exactly people began consuming coffee is unclear—

冇人知道究竟 人類幾時開始飲咖啡

but at some point before the 1400s, in what’s now Ethiopia,

但喺1400年代之前嘅某個時間 喺而家嘅埃塞俄比亞度

people began foraging for wild coffee in the forest undergrowth.

啲人開始喺森林嘅灌木度 搵野生咖啡樹

The reason coffee plants are equipped with lots of caffeine

咖啡樹內含大量咖啡因

might be because it makes them unattractive to herbivores

係因為咁樣 會冇咁吸引草食動物

or more attractive to pollinators.

或者更能吸引昆蟲 去傳播花粉

But either way, people caught on to coffee’s advantages

點都好，人類意識到 咖啡嘅好處

and began making tea from its leaves;

就開始用佢哋啲葉去沖茶

combining its berries with butter and salt for a sustaining snack;

將啲莓果撈埋牛油同鹽 整啲可保存嘅零食

and drying, roasting, and simmering its cherries into an energizing elixir.

將咖啡果乾燥、烘烤、慢煮 變成提神嘅靈丹妙藥

Coffee rode trade routes into the Middle East,

咖啡經過多條貿易路線進入中東

and its widespread popularity began brewing in earnest in the 1450s.

1450年代咖啡嘅廣泛流行開始醞釀

Upon returning from a visit to Ethiopia,

一位蘇菲派領袖 喺埃塞俄比亞返國後

a Sufi leader recommended that worshippers in Yemen

推薦喺也門嘅教徒

use coffee during ritual chants and dances.

喺誦經、跳舞嗰陣飲咖啡

Soon enough, people within the Ottoman Empire

冇幾耐，喺鄂圖曼帝國嘅人

began roasting and grinding the beans to yield a darker, bolder beverage.

開始烘烤、研磨咖啡豆製作出 顏色更深、更濃郁嘅飲品

Many gathered in guesthouses and outside mosques

好多人聚集喺客棧同清真寺出面

to partake in coffee’s comforts.

享受令人身心舒暢嘅咖啡

But authorities grew concerned about whether coffee’s influence

但政府開始擔心 咖啡對民眾嘅影響

was innocent or intoxicating,

究竟會唔會令佢哋醉倒？

and if Muslims should be allowed to drink it.

究竟回教徒又應唔應該飲呢？

Indeed, in 1511, a religious court in Mecca put coffee on trial.

實際上，喺1511年 麥加有個宗教法庭審判咖啡

Scholars finally deemed it permissible,

學者最終認可咗咖啡

so coffeehouses sprang up in Damascus, Istanbul, and beyond,

所以咖啡室喺大馬士革、 伊斯坦堡以外火速興起

where clientele could sip coffee, smoke, and enjoy a variety of entertainment.

客人可以呷啖咖啡、吸吓煙 同埋享受各式各樣嘅娛樂

By the late 1500s, people in Yemen were farming coffee

直到1500年後期 也門人種植咖啡

and exporting it from the port of Al-Makha,

由艾莫卡港出口

which became known in other parts of the world as Mocha.

呢個港口喺世界各地稱為莫卡

But coffee was eventually transported— or smuggled— into India,

但咖啡最終由運送 或者走私去咗印度

and soon took root in Java and beyond.

並喺爪哇同其他地方生根

Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire introduced the stimulating substance to Europe.

同時、鄂圖曼帝國 將呢種提神飲料帶到去歐洲

Central London’s first coffeehouses opened in the 1650s.

首間喺倫敦市中心嘅咖啡室 喺1650年代開幕

By 1663 there were more than 80.

到1663年已經開咗超過80間

And despite King Charles II’s attempt to ban them in 1675,

即使查理斯二世 試圖喺1675年禁止佢哋

coffeehouses kept simmering as social and intellectual hotbeds.

但咖啡室依然作為 社交同知識嘅溫床而逐漸發展

In 1679, for instance, patrons of Garraway’s coffeehouse

例如，1679年 喺Garraway咖啡室嘅常客

had the pleasure of watching Robert Hooke, the scientist who coined the term “cell,”

有幸睇到創造「細胞」一詞嘅科學家 Robert Hooke,

publicly dissect a porpoise.

當場解剖一條海豚

In France, people began mixing coffee with milk and sugar.

喺法國，啲人開始 加牛奶同糖入咖啡一齊飲

And throughout the 1700s,

而整個1700年代

Paris’ coffeehouses hosted Enlightenment figures like Diderot and Voltaire,

巴黎嘅咖啡室招待咗啟蒙時代嘅人物 如 Diderot、Voltaire

who allegedly drank 50 cups of coffee a day.

據稱佢哋一日飲50杯咖啡

Granted, these were likely small servings of comparatively weak coffee—

雖然話應該係細杯啲 淡啲嘅咖啡

but still, impressive.

飲咁多杯就有啲嚇人

Meanwhile, European empires began profiting off coffee-growing,

同時，歐洲帝國開始喺 咖啡種植上獲利

establishing enslaved or exploited workforces

繼而奴役、剝削

in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

喺亞洲、拉丁美洲同加勒比海嘅工人

As cultivation boomed in Latin America, fueled by slavery,

奴棣制推動咗拉丁美洲 咖啡種植嘅蓬勃發展

growers displaced Indigenous populations

種植工人逼走原住民

and burned forests to establish ever-expanding plantations.

並焚毀森林用嚟擴展種植用地

By 1906, Brazil was exporting over 80% of the world’s coffee.

直到1906年，巴西出口嘅咖啡 佔全世界總量嘅八成以上

That same year, the Milan World’s Fair showcased

同年，喺米蘭舉行嘅 世界博覽會展示咗

the first commercial espresso machine.

首部商用濃縮咖啡機

And alongside the development of industrial roasting equipment

隨住工業用咖啡烘焙機發展

came various coffee brands.

同時創造咗唔同咖啡品牌

By the mid-1950s, about 60% of US factories incorporated coffee breaks.

到咗1950年代中，大概有六成美國工廠 會安排休息時間俾員工飲杯咖啡

As African countries cut colonial ties, many ramped up coffee production.

由於非洲國家脫離殖民地身分 大部分國家都生產咖啡

And coffee drinking also later made inroads in East Asia,

而飲咖啡呢種文化 亦都進軍咗東亞

especially as canned, pre-prepared beverages.

特別係預先包裝嘅罐裝飲品

In more recent decades,

喺近呢幾十年

specialty coffees with an emphasis on quality beans and brewing methods

強調咖啡豆品質 同烘焙方法嘅精品咖啡

grew popular and propelled farms in Central America and East Africa.

越嚟越受歡迎，因而推動咗 喺中美洲同東非嘅咖啡農場

Yet coffee workers worldwide continued to endure inhumane conditions

但全球咖啡工人繼續承受緊唔人道

and insufficient compensation.

同埋冇足夠嘅報酬

This motivated certification efforts

因此推動咗咖啡生產認證工作

for coffee production that met ethical standards,

要符合最低工資同

including minimum wage and sustainable farming.

永續農業等道德標準

But issues still loom over the industry.

但業界依然係充斥住種種問題

And because of climate change,

因為氣候變化

the equatorial “Bean Belt” where coffee thrives

以赤道為中心嘅「咖啡帶」 咖啡樹生產最茂盛

is projected to shrink in upcoming decades.

預計喺嚟緊十年會萎縮

It’s unclear exactly what this might look like.

冇人清楚實際上會係點

But scientists are investigating possibilities

但科學家正研究緊啲可能性

like resilient coffee hybrids that might help weather the unpredictable future—

例如適應性強嘅混種咖啡豆 能抵受住難以預測嘅未來環境

all to protect the beverage that’s become a cherished part

目的係為咗好好保護

of daily rituals worldwide.

呢種已經成為咗 大家日常生活部分嘅珍貴飲品