Free Coffee Trivia: The Origin of Drip Coffee, Who Invented Cold Brew Coffee, and Where Does Arabica Originate?

Even after reading countless books, there is always some knowledge that slips by because it seems too trivial. That's what we call a fun fact. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share a few fun facts about coffee.

There's No Spanish Latte in Spain

The Spanish Latte, a signature drink of the well-known chain %Arabica, has been enormously popular since it launched. It is a coffee made from espresso, milk and condensed milk. Because the name contains "Spanish," people naturally assume it is a specialty coffee from Spain.

But if you visit a café in Spain, you won't find "Spanish Latte" on the menu, and local shop owners won't know what kind of drink it is, because the Spanish Latte doesn't actually exist in Spain. There is, however, a local specialty called "Café Bombón" (Candy Coffee) that is very close to it, made only from condensed milk and espresso, with no milk. People therefore speculate that the Spanish Latte is an adaptation of Café Bombón. (For related reading, click through to FrontStreet Coffee's article "How to Make Spanish Coffee.")

Cold Brew Coffee Wasn't Invented in Japan

Cold drip coffee is a method that uses special equipment to guide ice water through the grounds to extract the coffee. Because that equipment was invented in Japan, cold drip coffee is also known as "Kyoto coffee." Cold drip is a type of cold brew coffee, evolved from cold brew, which often leads people to assume cold brew itself was invented in Japan. It wasn't.

In Western countries, cold brew coffee is called "Dutch Coffee." As the name suggests, it is a brewing method invented by the Dutch. Although the specific inventor can no longer be traced, research in the international coffee community places the birth of cold brew back in the Age of Exploration. In the early 18th century, Dutch people sailing to Batavia, Indonesia, for trade accidentally discovered a way to extract coffee with ice water. The coffee made this way not only lacked the usual bitterness but was exceptionally sweet, completely unlike the freshly ground coffee of the time. This novel method spread to various places along Dutch trade routes, including the shogunate of the Edo period in Japan, where it was deeply loved.

As Japanese fascination with cold brew grew, brewers kept refining the process, and the ice-water cold drip pot was developed, opening a new era. Still, while the Japanese invented the cold drip pot, the cold brew method itself was not their invention.

Arabica Shouldn't Really Be Called Arabica

Small-bean Arabica originated in Yemen and spread through Europe and then the world via Yemen's Mocha port. Because the word "Yemen" appeared on coffee bean sacks for so long, people in Western countries believed the beans originated in Yemen. That led the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné, when writing his book "Species Plantarum," to assign the scientific name for this small-bean coffee according to binomial nomenclature: Coffea arabica L.

Scientific names of plants are based mainly on their nature, characteristics or origin. Binomial nomenclature means the first noun is the genus, the second is the species, and the name of the person who named it comes last. Translated, then, it means: the Arabica species under the Coffea genus, named by Linné. But as we know today, with information so widely available, Arabica may have come from the Arab world, yet it did not actually originate in Arabia. Its true home is in Africa, across from the Mocha port: Ethiopia. Had Mr. Linné known Arabica's real homeland, he would probably have named it Ethiopia. Still, as Mr. Han Huaizong notes in his book "Specialty Coffee Studies," this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The naming of Arabica is a beautiful misunderstanding. (For related reading, visit FrontStreet Coffee's article "Why Arabica Shouldn't Be Called Arabica.")

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since cold brew traces back to the Dutch, let's talk cold brew beans. FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha blend combines the most representative Panamanian Geisha variety with a honey-processed Costa Rican coffee: one supplies delicate rose and orange notes, the other the grape, dried blueberry and strawberry-candy sweetness that builds real depth. Brewed cold it is sweet-sour and lively, and with a little fermentation and settling it even takes on a fruity-wine texture.

For a floral, aromatic cold brew, FrontStreet Sun-dried Huakui is a must. From coffee's birthplace, Ethiopia, it is naturally processed so the beans absorb plenty of sweetness from the fruit and skin, and as cold brew it shows magnolia, cream strawberry, dried mango, guava and black tea. A more affordable, everyday option is FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative, which brews into a very sweet, layered cold coffee with berry and honey notes, and works just as well as pour-over, in a siphon or in a French press.