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cof·fee /ˈkôfē,ˈkäfē/ | noun | The berries harvested from species of Coffea plants.
Everyone recognizes a roasted coffee bean, but you might not recognize an actual coffee plant.
Coffee trees are pruned short to conserve their energy and aid in harvesting, but can grow to more than 30 feet (9 meters) high. Each tree is covered with green, waxy leaves growing opposite each other in pairs. Coffee cherries grow along the branches. Because it grows in a continuous cycle, it’s not unusual to see flowers, green fruit and ripe fruit simultaneously on a single tree.
It takes nearly a year for a cherry to mature after first flowering, and about 5 years of growth to reach full fruit production. While coffee plants can live up to 100 years, they are generally the most productive between the ages of 7 and 20. Proper care can maintain and even increase their output over the years, depending on the variety. The average coffee tree produces 10 pounds of coffee cherry per year, or 2 pounds of green beans.
All commercially grown coffee is from a region of the world called the Coffee Belt. The trees grow best in rich soil, with mild temperatures, frequent rain and shaded sun.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in COFFEE.
☕️ 2. Read a book set in a location with mild temperatures.
☕️ 3. Read a book with a character between the ages of 7 - 20.
☕️ 4. Read a book with a mostly green cover. {Your discretion.}
Remember: Books may not be completed until April 1, 2024.
Prompt #1 / Name: What is Coffee?Book: Coconut Layer Cake Murder
Author: Joanne Fluke
Date Read: 04/10/2024
Pages: 418
Task: Read a book where the title starts with a letter in COFFEE
How it Fits: The title of this book starts with a C in COFFEE
Mod
Coffee traces its origin to a genus of plants known as Coffea. Within the genus there are over 500 genera and 6,000 species of tropical trees and shrubs. Experts estimate that there are anywhere from 25 to 100 species of coffee plants.
The genus was first described in the 18th century by the Swedish botanist, Carolus Linneaus, who also described Coffea Arabica in his Species Plantarum in 1753. Botanists have disagreed ever since on the exact classification, since coffee plants can range widely. They can be small shrubs to tall trees, with leaves from one to 16 inches in size, and in colors from purple or yellow to the predominant dark green.
In the commercial coffee industry, there are two important coffee species � Arabica and Robusta.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with more than one species of characters.
☕️ 2. Read a book that is over 500 pages.
☕️ 3. Read a book that is between 25 - 100 pages, for this prompt only.
☕️ 4. Read a book where the author's first initial is found in CAROLUS and the last initial is found in LINNEAUS.
Prompt #2A /Name: Botanical ClassificationBook: Finding Healing
Author: Sylvia Price
Date Read: 05/12/2024
Pages: 84
Task: Read a book that is between 25-100 pages, for this prompt only.
How it fits: This book was a prequel with 84 pages in the edition I read.
Mod
Varieties: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Mundo Novo, Tico, San Ramon, Jamaican Blue Mountain
Coffea Arabica is descended from the original coffee trees discovered in Ethiopia. These trees produce a fine, mild, aromatic coffee and represent approximately 70% of the world's coffee production. The beans are flatter and more elongated than Robusta and lower in caffeine.
On the world market, Arabica coffees bring the highest prices. The better Arabicas are high grown coffees � generally grown between 2,000 to 6,000 feet (610 to 1830 meters) above sea level � though optimal altitude varies with proximity to the equator.
The most important factor is that temperatures must remain mild, ideally between 59 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with about 60 inches of rainfall a year. The trees are hearty, but a heavy frost will kill them.
Arabica trees are costly to cultivate because the ideal terrain tends to be steep and access is difficult. Also, because the trees are more disease-prone than Robusta, they require additional care and attention.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in ARABICA.
☕️ 2. Read a book with between 59 - 75 chapters.
☕️ 3. Read a book where it rains at least once.
☕️ 4. Read a book with an MC that "requires additional care and attention." {Be creative.}
Prompt #2B /Name: Coffea Arabica � C. ArabicaBook: The Wishing Game
Author: Meg Shaffer
Date Read: 05/15/2024
Pages: 304
Task:4. Read a book with an MC that "requires additional care and attention." {Be creative.)
How it fits: Revered and admired Jack Masterton author of the Clock Island books lives in seclusion on Clock Island. He cannot be left alone so his illustrator Hugo Reese resides on Clock Island too so that he can take care of Jack and give him the care and attention he needs even though Jack is drinking himself into an early grave and hasn't written for almost 8 years.
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Variety: Robusta
Most of the world's Robusta is grown in Central and Western Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, and in Brazil. Production of Robusta is increasing, though it accounts for only about 30% of the world market.
Robusta is primarily used in blends and for instant coffees. The Robusta bean itself tends to be slightly rounder and smaller than an Arabica bean.
The Robusta tree is heartier and more resistant to disease and parasites, which makes it easier and cheaper to cultivate. It also has the advantage of being able to withstand warmer climates, preferring constant temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, which enables it to grow at far lower altitudes than Arabica.
It requires about 60 inches of rainfall a year, and cannot withstand frost. Compared with Arabica, Robusta beans produce a coffee which has a distinctive taste and about 50-60% more caffeine.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in ROBUSTA.
☕️ 2. Read a book with something round and/or small on the cover. {Your discretion.}
☕️ 3. Read a book where a character consumes a drink that contains caffeine. {coffee, cola, etc.}
☕️ 4. Read a book set in one of these places: "Central and Western Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, and in Brazil."
Prompt #2C: Coffea canephora � C. canephora var. RobustaBook: Sex in the Museum
Author: Sarah Forbes
Date read: 05/27/2024
Pages: 224
Task 1:☕️ 1. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in ROBUSTA.
How it fits: This book starts with an S as in Robusta
Robu(S)ta
Mod
The beans you brew are actually the processed and roasted seeds from a fruit, which is called a coffee cherry.
The coffee cherry's outer skin is called the exocarp. Beneath it is the mesocarp, a thin layer of pulp, followed by a slimy layer called the parenchyma. The beans themselves are covered in a paper-like envelope named the endocarp, more commonly referred to as the parchment.
Inside the parchment, side-by-side, lie two beans, each covered separately by yet another thin membrane. The biological name for this seed skin is the spermoderm, but it is generally referred to in the coffee trade as the silver skin.
In about 5% of the world's coffee, there is only one bean inside the cherry. This is called a peaberry (or a caracol, or "snail" in Spanish), and it is a natural mutation. Some people believe that peaberries are actually sweeter and more flavorful than standard beans, so they are sometimes manually sorted out for special sale.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with the word CHERRY found in the text.
☕️ 2. Read a book with a 5 in the page count.
☕️ 3. Read a book you thought was sweet in some way.
☕️ 4. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in PARCHMENT.
Prompt #3: The Anatomy of a Coffee CherryBook: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author: Mark Twain
Date read: 05/30/2024
Pages:371
Task☕️ 4. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in PARCHMENT
How it fits: The author Mark Twain's first and last initials are found in PARCHMENT
parch(m)en(T)
Mod
No one knows exactly how or when coffee was discovered, though there are many legends about its origin. Let's look at several of them.
Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans.
The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night.
Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer. The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.
As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would bring these beans across the globe.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book about an urban legend.
☕️ 2. Read a book where the title/subtitle has all the letters of K-A-L-D-I in it.
☕️ 3. Read a book where a discovery is made.
☕️ 4. Read a book with any farm animal on the cover.
Prompt #4A: Origins and Ethiopian LegendBook: The Paris Daughter
Author: Kristin Harmel
Date read: 06/26/2024
Pages: 384
Task☕️ 3. Read a book where a discovery is made.
How it fits: The MC returns to her Paris apartment at the end of WW2 to find it stripped bare of all her sculptures and her dead husband's paintings. She learns that the gallery owner she dealt with is in New York. On a trip to New York to learn about her daughter she discovers that the sculptures and paintings were stolen by the gallery owner and he is selling them for a fortune. She is furious and works with the unknowing partner to get what is owed to her.
Mod
Coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula. By the 15th century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey.
Coffee was not only enjoyed in homes, but also in the many public coffee houses � called qahveh khaneh � which began to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity.
Not only did the patrons drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news. Coffee houses quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that they were often referred to as “Schools of the Wise.�
With thousands of pilgrims visiting the holy city of Mecca each year from all over the world, knowledge of this “wine of Araby� began to spread.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book where chess or another board game is played.
☕️ 2. Read a book where the MC goes to a social activity.
☕️ 3. Read a book where the first letter of each word in the title starts with a letter found in SCHOOLS OF THE WISE. {3-word minimum}
☕️ 4. Read a book with a word(s) in the text that you aren't familiar with, like qahveh khaneh.
Prompt #4B: The Arabian PeninsularBook: Just for the Summer
Author: Abby Jimenez
Date read: 07/27/2024
Pages:432
Task☕️ 1. Read a book where chess or another board game is played.
How it fits: The female MC and male MC challenge each other to a game of chess which she wins much to his surprise.
Mod
European travelers to the Near East brought back stories of an unusual dark black beverage. By the 17th century, coffee had made its way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent.
Some people reacted to this new beverage with suspicion or fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.� The local clergy condemned coffee when it came to Venice in 1615. The controversy was so great that Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene. He decided to taste the beverage for himself before making a decision, and found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.
Despite such controversy, coffee houses were quickly becoming centers of social activity and communication in the major cities of England, Austria, France, Germany and Holland. In England “penny universities� sprang up, so called because for the price of a penny one could purchase a cup of coffee and engage in stimulating conversation.
Coffee began to replace the common breakfast drink beverages of the time � beer and wine. Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began the day alert and energized, and not surprisingly, the quality of their work was greatly improved. (We like to think of this a precursor to the modern office coffee service.)
By the mid-17th century, there were over 300 coffee houses in London, many of which attracted like-minded patrons, including merchants, shippers, brokers and artists.
Many businesses grew out of these specialized coffee houses. Lloyd's of London, for example, came into existence at the Edward Lloyd's Coffee House.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with someone dressed in red on the cover.
☕️ 2. Read a book with a devil of a character in it.
☕️ 3. Read a book with the word PENNY found in the text.
☕️ 4. Read a book with over 300 pages.
Prompt #4C: Origins - Coffee Comes to EuropeBook: The Corset Factory Book 1: Threads of Destiny
Author: Valerie Anne Hudson
Date read: 08/08/2024
Pages:338
Task☕️ 2. Read a book with a devil of a character in it.
How it fits: One of the female MC's , Elizabeth is a rich witch, demon and devil. She gets the other MC fired from 2 jobs. She arranges to have her brother murdered or shipped overseas never to come back and she poisons her husband.
Mod
In the mid-1600's, coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York by the British.
Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the favored drink in the New World until 1773, when the colonists revolted against a heavy tax on tea imposed by King George III. The revolt, known as the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking preference to coffee.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book set in New York or Boston.
☕️ 2. Read a book with an MPG of HISTORICAL OR HISTORICAL FICTION.
☕️ 3. Read a book with a royal character.
☕️ 4. Read a book with at least 2 numbers of 1773 in the publication date.
Prompt #4D: Origins - The New WorldBook: The Last Letter From Your Lover
Author: Jojo Moyes
Date read: 08/14/2024
Pages:415
Task ☕️ 4. Read a book with at least 2 numbers of 1773 in the publication date.
How it fits: The Publication date of this book is July 7, 2011 (edition I read)
7 and 1 are two of the numbers in 1773
Mod
As demand for the beverage continued to spread, there was fierce competition to cultivate coffee outside of Arabia.
The Dutch finally got seedlings in the latter half of the 17th century. Their first attempts to plant them in India failed, but they were successful with their efforts in Batavia, on the island of Java in what is now Indonesia.
The plants thrived and soon the Dutch had a productive and growing trade in coffee. They then expanded the cultivation of coffee trees to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with the word FIERCE found in the text.
☕️ 2. Read a book set in India.
☕️ 3. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in DUTCH.
☕️ 4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is NOT found in BATAVIA.
Prompt #4E: Origins - Plantations Around the WorldBook: Death on Tap
Author: Ellie Alexander
Date read: 09/05/2024
Pages: 310
Task ☕️3. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in DUTCH.
How it fits: The title of this book starts with a D....Death which is also the first letter of Dutch.
Mod
In 1714, the Mayor of Amsterdam presented a gift of a young coffee plant to King Louis XIV of France. The King ordered it to be planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris. In 1723, a young naval officer, Gabriel de Clieu obtained a seedling from the King's plant. Despite a challenging voyage � complete with horrendous weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the seedling, and a pirate attack � he managed to transport it safely to Martinique.
Once planted, the seedling not only thrived, but it’s credited with the spread of over 18 million coffee trees on the island of Martinique in the next 50 years. Even more incredible is that this seedling was the parent of all coffee trees throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.
The famed Brazilian coffee owes its existence to Francisco de Mello Palheta, who was sent by the emperor to French Guiana to get coffee seedlings. The French were not willing to share, but the French Governor's wife, captivated by his good looks, gave him a large bouquet of flowers before he left� buried inside were enough coffee seeds to begin what is today a billion-dollar industry.
Missionaries and travelers, traders and colonists continued to carry coffee seeds to new lands, and coffee trees were planted worldwide. Plantations were established in magnificent tropical forests and on rugged mountain highlands. Some crops flourished, while others were short-lived. New nations were established on coffee economies. Fortunes were made and lost. By the end of the 18th century, coffee had become one of the world's most profitable export crops. After crude oil, coffee is the most sought commodity in the world.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with a man on the cover.
☕️ 2. Read a book where a character gives or receives flowers.
☕️ 3. Read a book where the MC made or lost a fortune.
☕️ 4. Read a book that uses Roman numerals for the chapter numbers or at least some of the page numbers.
Prompt #4F: Origins - Coming to the AmericasBook: Off Base
Author: Annabeth Albert
Date read: 11/08/2024
Pages: 276
☕️ 1. Read a book with a man on the cover
How it fits: This book was a M/M romance and the cover shows two men.
Mod
Coffee was banned in Mecca in 1511, as it was believed to stimulate radical thinking and hanging out � the governor thought it might unite his opposition. Java also got a bad rap for its use as a stimulant � some Sufi sects would pass around a bowl of coffee at funerals to stay awake during prayers.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book where a funeral takes place.
☕️ 2. Read a book where the author's first OR last initial is found in MECCA.
☕️ 3. Read a book with three 1s in the publication date, like 1511.
☕️ 4. Read a banned book. Here are some suggestions: Books Banned or Challenged.
Prompt #5A: Attempts to Ban Coffee - MeccaBook: The Rules of Royalty
Author: Cale Dietrick
Date read: 11/17/2024
Pages:336
☕️ 2. Read a book where the author's first OR last initial is found in MECCA
How it fits: The author's first initial is C and C is found in MECCA
Mod
When coffee arrived in Europe in the 16th century, clergymen pressed for it to be banned and labeled Satanic. But Pope Clement VIII took a taste, declared it delicious, and even quipped that it should be baptized. On the strength of this papal blessing, coffeehouses rapidly sprang up throughout Europe.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with all the letters of S-A-T-A-N in the title/subtitle.
☕️ 2. Read a book with steam or smoke on the cover.
☕️ 3. Read a book where someone receives a blessing. {Your discretion.}
☕️ 4. Read a book set anywhere in Europe.
Prompt #5B: Attempts to Ban Coffee - ItalyBook: One Night on the Island
Author: Josie Silver
Date read: 01/06/2025
Pages:368
☕️4. Read a book set anywhere in Europe
How it fits: This book was set on a small Island off the coast of Ireland.
Mod
After Murad IV claimed the Ottoman throne in 1623, he quickly forbade coffee and set up a system of reasonable penalties. The punishment for a first offense was a beating. Anyone caught with coffee a second time was sewn into a leather bag and thrown into the waters of the Bosporus.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book where a character is forbade to do something.
☕️ 2. Read a book where the MC's first initial is NOT found in BOSPORUS.
☕️ 3. Read a book from a series with at least 4 separate works included.
☕️ 4. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in CONSTANTINOPLE.
Prompt #5C: Attempts to Ban Coffee -ConstantinopleBook: Darling Girls
Author: Sally Hepworth
Date read: 02/28/2025
Pages:359
☕️ 2. Read a book where the MC's first initial is NOT found in BOSPORUS
How it fits: There are 4 main characters - Jessica, Alicia, Normah and Miss Fairchild. None of these characters have a first initial in the word BOSPORUS.
Mod
Sweden gave coffee the ax in 1746. The government also banned “coffee paraphernalia� � with cops confiscating cups and dishes. King Gustav III even ordered convicted murderers to drink coffee while doctors monitored how long the cups of joe took to kill them, which was great for convicts and boring for the doctors.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with a king, a cop, a convict, or a doctor in it.
☕️ 2. Read a book you found to be boring.
☕️ 3. Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SWEDEN.
☕️ 4. Read a book with some type of “coffee paraphernalia� on the cover or mentioned in the text, like cups and dishes.
Prompt #5D: Attempts to Ban Coffee -SwedenBook: I'm With The Band: Confessions of a Groupie
Author: Pamela de Barres
Date read: 03/14/2025
Pages:354
☕️ 2. Read a book you found to be boring.
How it fits: I love this prompt....I can vent. This was probably the worst book I have ever read. I had to read it for a challenge so I couldn't throw it in a dumpster. Boring wasn't the word. This was way, way, way worse than boring. The worst part ... there is a sequel.
Mod
In 1777, Frederick the Great of Prussia issued a manifesto claiming beer’s superiority over coffee. He argued that coffee interfered with the country’s beer consumption, apparently hoping a royal statement would make Prussians eager for an eye-opening brew each morning. Frederick’s statement proclaimed, “His Majesty was brought up on beer,� explaining why he thought breakfast drinking was a good idea.
Complete ONE of the following:
☕️ 1. Read a book with a hat on the cover.
☕️ 2. Read a book with a 7 in the page count.
☕️ 3. Read a book where a character eats breakfast.
☕️ 4. Read a book with the word BEER in the text.
The Best Part of Waking Up...
Individual, Self-Pace Challenge
April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2026
Whether you sang, "Folgers in your cup," or another brand, many people would agree that the best part of waking up is a fresh hot, cold brewed, or iced cup of coffee. In this challenge we will look at all things coffee-related. We'll even finish up by taking a look at some delicious recipes for various types of coffee. You'll have lots of time to complete this venti-sized, individual, self-paced challenge. That's right. The Best Part of Waking Up... will brew from April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2026!
This is an individual, self-paced challenge. You will have 4 tasks to choose from for each prompt. You only need to complete one to move on to the next prompt.
Each time you satisfy a task, make a post here In YOUR OWN THREAD. Please use the following example for your Completion Post.
Prompt # / Name:
Book:
Author:
Date Read:
Pages:
Task:
How it Fits:
If you have any questions about this challenge, please post them in the Coffee Bar: Q&A Thread.
Challenge Rules:
☕️ Standard Rules Apply
☕️ I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
☕️ Your first prompt will be posted on March 31, 2024.
☕️ Books must be completed after the task has been posted.
{Source: ncausa.org}
☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
Free Coffee Passes
Stuck on a task? It just seems too difficult? You have 3 Free Coffee Passes to use throughout this challenge. Use them wisely!