Let’s Look at a Coffee Plant
The coffee plant may not be as diverse as the number of coffee flavors out there (there’s no coffee plant that grows coffee hazelnut beans), but they are equally interesting. Coffee plants can be classified into two major species, the Coffea arabica and the Coffea canephora most commonly known as the robusta variety.
Coffea arabica is a much older species. Its roots can be traced back as far as the mountains of Kaffa, Ethiopia. It is indigenous in south-western Ethiopia. Even though the Arabica coffee is well accepted as the better tasting variety, growing the plant can be a little daunting. The Arabica variety is more susceptible to diseases.
Most of the Arabica variety is now being planted in Latin America, East Africa and in Asia and the Pacific. It is highly notable that even though the same Arabica specie is being grown in these countries, each country produces a slightly different kind of Arabica, having distinct flavors and characteristics. Aside from the flavors, highly noticeable differences will be observed in the Coffee‘s aroma, the body or feel of the coffee as well as the acidity.
And not only does the location affect the characteristics of coffee but the method of processing the coffee beans can also have varying effects. Arabica varieties grow well in the highlands. It is known that they grow best at altitudes between 3,000 to 6,000 feet. What the colder climate does is slow down the maturing time for the berry and creates a smaller and denser bean. The bean becomes less porous and contains less moisture which traps the flavor within the bean.
The robusta variety, on the other hand, is a much sturdier plant. It contains 40-50% more caffeine than the Arabica. Even though its less superior in terms of taste, aroma and feel, robusta varieties are being cultivated since their resilience allow them to be grown in areas where the Arabica kind can’t grow.
The robusta coffee is somewhat bitter and has little flavor compared to the Arabica variety. Commercial and instant coffees are often made from robusta coffee beans. The coffee manufacturers use various techniques to remove the bitter taste and the card board smell from the beans.
Aside from those two main species, other coffee species also exists. Coffea liberica and Coffea esliaca are some of the smaller specie coffee groups. The liberica coffee in particular can rival Arabica in taste, flavor and aroma. Liberaca even costs some more than the robusta kind.
However, nothing beats coffees that are grown on smaller farm lands, estates or on peasant plots. The trick is in the handling of the plant during harvesting. If gathering the beans has been done haphazardly without quality control, chances are the bean’s overall taste, flavor and aroma will be compromised.
Jess Shaw
About unnatural and non-ital food and drinks.?
I was reading about the rastafarian worldview in general.
Then i arrived at a chapter about ital food.
It says here:
"They drink anything that is herbal, such as tea, but liquor, coffee, milk and soft drinks are viewed as unnatural".
Now, can anybody give me a good explanation why liquor, coffee and milk are considered unnatural/unclean/not ital?
After all i know that liquor (made from cassava and other plant’s parts; i’d be interested in the traditional african liquor production since i can’t recall the plants’ names right now) plays an important role in african vodun rituals (as sacrifices).
Also many "tribal societies"/native tribes in africa made or still make use of alcohol in a spiritual manner.
And as liquor is a product from processing parts of a plant, how can it then be "unnatural"?
Milk (from cows and goats) is also used quite commonly in africa.
Rastafaris seem to prefer coconut milk instead of mammal milk.
But afaik coconut trees don’t grow (naturally) in africa.
As milk is the natural product of a mammal, how can it be "unnatural"?
Tea is in general a dried part of a plant that is prepared with hot water for drinking.
The tea plant and the usage of tea originated from asia.
And afaik tea has not been popular in the world, or africa in specific until colonial trading allowed it to be cultivated in modern times.
Coffee is the roasted seed of the coffee plant which natural habitat is africa.
The ritualistic use of coffee can be historically traced to ethiopia (the "rastafarian paradise on earth") and the arabic red sea region.
So, as the coffee bean is a natural product and has been used by africans for ages, how can it be "unnatural" then?
As not being a rastafari follower myself, all of the above seems not to make any sense to me,
because the above dogmas seem to be negating african history and culture to a large extent.
Especially if you look at the ever-praised usage of "ganja"/marijuana and consider the fact, that marijuana has not been grown or used in a spiritual way in large parts of ancient africa at all.
Now, that is not to state that i support the prohibition of marijuana, but rather to say that i think large parts of the rastafarian dogma seems to be based on wrong facts.
If anyone is able to enlighten me on this subject, i’d be very glad.
I can’t seem to find any discussion about the above in the web.
Please don’t troll or flame, let’s stick on the topic.
Thank you in advance.
this is YA, go to a site or forum that has rastas
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Maybe because they are not purely of nature…when they have tea, they may just use tea leaves they have picked up of the ground or of a tree, that is like why coconut milk is acceptable…
But liquor, coffee, milk and soft drinks are unnatural since, liquor is formed from fermantation (man-made), coffee must be ground (usually) before consumption, milk comes from another animal (usually, excluding humans O_o) and soft drinks are easy, they are man-made…
Though I have no clue personally, just trying to help
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Its quite simple actually. It doesn’t make sense because it’s a cult. All cults are full of contradictions and confusion.
"One man’s faith permits him to believe he may eat anything, while a weaker one limits his eating to vegetables…I know and am convinced as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is forbidden as essentially unclean. After all the Kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but instead it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." – Romans chapter 14
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