How Coffee Makers Came to Be

Coffee beans were first cultivated by the Arabs in the 12th century. The Arabs roasted then boiled the beans to make a murky and bitter tasting beverage called gahwa – meaning a substance that prevents sleep. In the 15th century the first coffee shop opened in Constantinople. Up until the next century, the bitter coffee was exclusive in Europe.

The Italians got hold of the beverage and to make it acceptable to Christians, as the drink came from Ottoman Turks, Pope Clement VIII "baptized" the drink. Explorer John Smith introduced the beans to the new world in the early 17th century. From then on coffee houses mushroomed in Italy and England. Edward Lloyd’s coffee shop was the favorite watering hole in England by merchants and maritime insurance agents. The lowly coffee shop was the springboard of today’s Lloyd’s of London.

The 18th century further brought coffee its steady rise to being global. The Boston Tea Party in the United States of America made drinking coffee a nationalistic endeavor. The lone coffee plant brought to South America blossomed into the vast coffee plantation it is today.

As with all things, man’s quest to further science, art and even the way to cook and enjoy food is incessant. The Hill Bros. started packing roasted coffee in vacuum sealed tins which brought to an end to the flourishing coffee mills and roasting shops. The invention of the "instant" coffee made drinking coffee at a whim easier. The first half of the 20th century saw the phenomenal rise of coffee as the number one drink. Freeze-dried coffee beans were introduced by Nestle. It is today’s Nescafe. Maxwell’s instant coffee was issued to WW II soldiers as part of their rations. The market was flooded with instant coffee while coffee connoisseurs shunned the product.

The percolator was invented by James Mason in the late 19th century. The invention of the first drip coffee maker was by Melitta Bentz. The invention of the coffee filter and filter paper was patented. Next came the invention of the espresso machine by Achilles Gaggia. The machine extracted the coffee at high pressure and the result was strong pure coffee.

The first commercialized automatic drip coffee maker was invented in the 1970’s. From then on, producing high quality coffee drink has never been easier. There were a lot of companies who branched out and patented brands and types of coffee makers for the last 40 years. In the 70’s coffee shops once again prospered. People young and old were once again hooked on "real" coffee. No instant coffee please. There’s a whole range of choices for the connoisseur out there aside from the drip coffee maker and espresso machines. There’s the pod, French press, and the vacuum coffee makers. You can take your pick.

Today there are about 20 million people who are directly connected to the coffee industry. On yearly basis, an estimated 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed. That’s a billion plus cups of coffee consumed daily!

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