What is coffee and its history?

Coffee is the common and general term for a beverage, which is made by extracting flavors from roasted coffee beans. The history of coffee can be dated back to the 15th century in Ethiopia, from where it spread to the rest of the world during the 16th and 17th centuries. Coffee came to Denmark around 1665, but first really began to gain ground during the 19th century.

Coffee contains a number of different chemical substances that affect us physically and mentally when we drink it. Most well known is probably caffeine, which has an invigorating effect. Coffee also contains a number of water-soluble substances and essential oils, which help to give the coffee its taste. In fact, hundreds of such substances have been identified, making coffee more aromatically versatile than, for example, wine. The aromas, their strength and composition, are influenced by a number of different factors: the coffee variety, its soil, how it is processed after picking, how it is roasted, ground and finally the brewing method. So coffee is not just coffee.