A Brief History of Coffee (part 2)

Coffee was first drunk in North America in 1688 where it was usually drunk with suger and cinnamon. By 1696 it was the standard breakfast drink and became increasingly popular. Coffee became the national drink in response to the tea levy imposed by the British.

Most coffee shipped to Europe came from eastern ports and as coffee became more popular they imposed heavy trade duties on it. this lead to plants being smuggled from the east to Western colonies. The dutch introduced it to Batavia and Java, the French to Martinique and West Indeis, the British,Spanish and Portagues to the tropical belts of Asia and South Amerrica. Coffee was introduced to Brazil in 1727 and the perfect coffee growing conditions were found. It remains the worlds largest coffee supllier.

From the middle of the 1800's coffee was to became the one of the worlds most important trading commodities.



Coffee Smells

After they are roasted, and when the coffee beans begin to cool, they release about 700 chemical substances that make up the vaporizing aromas, and when coffee is brewing it produces the most recognizible smell in the world.



Coffee Fights Disease

That cup of coffee that you are drinking may do you more good than just help get you through the morning meeting. Medical studies have associated regular coffee intake with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. A Harvard study found that coffee drinkers had one-third the Parkinson's disease risk of non-coffee drinkers. Another study published in Annals of Neurology evaluated more than 47,000 men and 88,000 women. It concluded that the subjects who drank 1-3 cups of coffee a day had a decreased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. A European study of patients over a 20 year period found that caffeine intake was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.


Coffee Processing

Ther are two methods of processing coffee.


1. Wet Method
Beans are extracted from cherries within 24 hours of harvesting. The beans are cleaned, pulped and fermented, washed and dried.


1. Dry Method
This is a more economical method. The beans are spread in thin layers, dried in the sun, then machine pulped and finally sifted to seperate the beans from the husks. Brazil coffee is processed this way.



Mr Beans Coffee Company

Joshua and Gabby Magnus started MR BEANS COFFEE in 1999, firstly for a six month stint at the Riverside Centre in Brisbane's central business district, then soon after establishing several locations at the University of Queensland (UQ). MR BEANS has three mobile coffee carts and two permanent espresso bars and serves the UQ population of 35,000 students and staff with freshly brewed espresso and a wide variety of coffee and chocolate drinks.

Gabby Magnus

Gabby Magnus started working after school in a Sydney café aged 14 and soon developed a strong passion for coffee. She has brought that passion and her many years of experience and expertise to her own business and helped turn a simple idea into an amazing success. She personally trains all MR BEANS staff and insists on serving a perfect cup of coffee every time. In the 2000 Piazza Diora Barista of the Year competition she won the Queensland division and then went on to place third in Australia. Three years later she was awarded the most popular barista in Australia in the BMW Barista of the Year competition. She has since become a certified barista trainer with her own coffee school, a barista-accredited judge, and regularly organises and compares the Queensland finals of national barista competitions.


Joshua Magnus

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The Mr Beans Team

The staff at ME BEANS are drawn mostly from their client bass - the students of the University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus. There are currently about 30 baristas, and they have all received indepth training in the art and science of espresso from Gabby and are given the 40 page MR BEANS manual which quotes - "We will serve a great, fast cup of coffee with a smile every time."