Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica (pronunciation: /kɒˈfiː.ə əˈræbɪkə/) is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the forests of the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia. It is also known as the "Arabian coffee", "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee". Coffea arabica is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, being grown in southwest Arabia for well over 1,000 years. It is considered to produce better coffee than Coffea canephora (Robusta), but tastes vary.

Etymology

The name Coffea arabica was first used by the Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician Carl Linnaeus. The word "coffee" entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch koffie, borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish kahve, in turn borrowed from the Arabic qahwah (قهوة). The Arabic word qahwah originally referred to a type of wine, whose etymology is given by Arab lexicographers as deriving from the verb qahiya (قَهِيَ), "to lack hunger", in reference to the drink's reputation as an appetite suppressant.

Related Terms

Caffeine: A central nervous system stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug.
Coffea canephora: Also known as Robusta coffee, it is a species of coffee which has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa.
Coffee bean: The seed of the coffee plant, and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry.
Coffee roasting: The process of transforming the raw fruit of the coffee cherry into the finished coffee. The process influences the taste of the beverage by changing the coffee bean both physically and chemically.