STOKES BLOG Coffee - History Behind The Hottest Thing On The High Street

A good old cup of coffee, or tea, has got us Brits through some of life’s most challenging times over the years. A warm brew is part of our everyday rituals and the centre-piece of many social gatherings, meetings, and even the fuel on which commerce runs for some.

It might surprise you to know that our beloved coffee beans have been around for as long as 1,000 years. The coffee plant can trace its roots back to Ethiopia and during the 11th century it was allegedly known as ‘magical fruit’ and used for its medicinal properties.

Through the centuries, the coffee bean grew in popularity and slowly made its way north before arriving in Yemen during the 1500s. The first port to welcome the coffee bean was called Mocha – so now we know where that association comes from!

Almost 450 years after coffee arrived in Italy, in 1901, the espresso machine was invented by Luigi Bezzera. The story is that he came up with the idea to create a machine that would brew coffee quickly so that his workers wouldn’t take so long on their coffee break!

It’s hard to believe that from its humble beginnings, coffee would become second only to oil, as the largest commodity traded globally. Believe it or not, around 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year around the world.

There’s even more to the magical world of coffee - nutritionally, coffee contains antioxidants, B vitamins, magnesium and potassium. Some have even reported that it can help make you smarter, less tired, burn fat and reduce the risk of certain diseases such as Parkinson’s and type 2 diabetes.

Coffee seems to go from strength-to-strength, and it’s still the hottest thing on the high street, (out of Lockdown that is!), with new coffee trends proving ever more popular across the UK and beyond.

You can find some of the finest coffee menus at two of the busiest cafés in the heart of Lincoln. The High Bridge and The Lawn cafés are both run by one of the oldest coffee roasting companies - Stokes Tea and Coffee which has been around for well over a hundred years and is a family run business even to this day. Once Lockdown is over you'll be able to sample everything from classic blends to cutting-edge coffee creations, learn about coffee origins at one the tasting experiences, or even get trained as a Barista at the company’s accredited training centre!

Just like Stokes, coffee has been with us for many years and it looks like it will be with us for many more, and, there will be plenty of coffee lovers shouting – hurray to that!

To find out more about the Stokes Tea and Coffee contact: 01522 523548 or visit www.stokescoffee.com