To say Blanca Café Bistro loves coffee is an understatement; they’re devoted to it.
Are you a coffee lover?
The charming Hamra café held a coffee workshop last month which I had the opportunity to host. Check out the video:
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We (aka the “students”) explored various coffee beans as well as their origins, scents and flavours. Afterwards, we tasted several yummy coffee concoctions Blanca Café Bistro created: Vanilla Latte, Nutty Mocha, Flat White, Café Banana and Almond Cherry.
Being a devoted Vanilla Latte fan, I naturally went for that as my favourite – trust me, it’s delicious!
Here are some of my favourite snapshots from our coffee workshop!
Wanna brush up on your coffee culture?
Here are some of many benefits of coffee:
- Improves physical performance
- Burns fat and aids in weight loss
- Has protective effects on the liver
- Lowers the risk of diabetes
- Reduces depression
- Prevents the onset of diseases such as Azheimer’s & Parkinson’s
- Lowers risk of some types of cancer
- Lowers risk of heart disease
We were told two coffee origin stories at the Blanca coffee workshop – well, “myths” actually. Coffee is said to have originated from Yemen or Ethiopia according to our coffee connoisseur.
Yemen’s Coffee Origin Myth
One version of the story says that a doctor-priest, Sheikh Omar, was exiled as punishment by the king to a desert cave because he practiced medicine on the princess and after curing her, he decided to “keep” her. During his exile, he found red berries that come from the coffee plant and after trying to eat them, he noticed that they were bitter so he threw them into the fire to ”roast” them making them harden. Omar then boiled them because they were not chewable and in the boiling process, he noticed a pleasant aroma and drank the liquid. Because of the energy he got from the liquid, he shared his story with others.
Someone explain to me who he spoke to since he was exiled to a desert cave, so I personally assumed there were no humans around.
Anywho… Omar’s story reached his hometown and his exile was lifted on the condition that he brings with him the coffee berries. The drink cured many ailments and the town dubbed it as a “miracle drug” and a monastery was built in Omar’s honor.
Ethiopia’s Coffee Origin Myth
A goat herder named Kaldi was herding his goats near a monastery. He noticed that they behaved very bizarrely that day – they were jumping around excitedly, bleating very loudly and dancing on their hind legs! He noticed a small shrub of bright red berries and tasted them out of curiosity. After feeling the energizing effects of the berries, he took some home to his wife and she told him to share them with the monks.
When Kaldi arrived at the monastery, the monks disapproved and called it “Devil’s work” tossing it into a fire. As soon as the monks sensed the aroma of roasting berries, they gave it a second chance. They removed them from the fire and preserved them by covering them in hot water. After trying the magic drink, they noticed that it was beneficial for keeping them awake during their spiritual practices and decided to drink it daily.
The Ethiopian coffee origin version only appeared in writing in A.D. 1671 and is mostly considered a myth rather than the true history of coffee’s origin.
So next time you’re craving a cup of freshly brewed quality coffee, you know where to go. And if you’re at Blanca Cafe for breakfast – well, I’ll leave that deliciously noteworthy story for another time…
Psst. Here’s a teaser:
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Blanca Cafe Bistro – Hamra
Address: Omar Bin Abdul Aziz, Beirut
Contact: +961-342003
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