American Coffee: A Novelty
It is a surprise, and yet a novelty, home grown coffee in the mountains of California. The climate of California creates a good place for coffee to grow and for a coffee farm to harvest coffee. It is still necessary to import coffee from Colombia, Brazil or Indonesia because the coffee that is grown in the United States could not potentially be a competition to those large-scale industries, but it is notable that California is incorporating coffee into its menu.
Coffee from California is something that perhaps not a lot of people know about, but it exists and the first time that I realized it was happening I was quite curious. Drinking coffee from an early age, I have learned to incorporate, love and share coffee every single day, at least as much as I can whenever I can. However, realizing that coffee can be grown in other parts of the world was an idea I did not expect.
California is a fertile state, with grapes covering many areas which wine makers are proud of and offer quality wines, and now, can claim the harvest of coffee. While climate change may play a part in the development of coffee growing in California, it is an advancement that only that state can claim.
Coffee requires a very lengthy process to become what it needs to be, before it is ground, brewed and served in a cup. Speaking to a local coffee shop owner, I learned that the coffee that we drink is actually stale coffee and that it takes about six to eight weeks for the coffee to become something that we can enjoy. Sumatra, Colombian coffee and other types of coffee are actually all the same but the environment where they are grown is quite different and thus, we refer to coffee as good or bad.
While speaking with the coffee shop owner, I came to the realization that coffee is something I cannot fully describe as I love this beverage too much to put it into a box and describe the process of harvesting, drying, roasting, grinding and drinking. Just like wine, we learn processes, but we sometimes do not understand where they come from, and wine is simply a drink that we enjoy with meals or with friends.
California is the most advanced state in the United States when it comes to scientific developments, progressive politics and change in global climate solutions. California can teach us a lot about our future as the state becomes more vulnerable to changes and to the creation of solutions that affect individuals in that state and in the rest of the country.
Recently, while walking down a nature path, I tried to concentrate in the quietness and I came to find that there was none, as a highway passed right next to it and the cars traveling on it made my moment with nature impossible. Humans are unaware of what is happening to the environment, but California should be praised for the effort and work that has been implemented to conserve and to save the environment where Californians live.
When I think of California, I think of sunsets on the beach, of roller skaters cruising down the street and of surfers getting into the early cold water. But now, when I think of this beautiful state, I will also associate it with coffee and with the growth of that berry, of that product, of that beverage that I so love, and I am proud to have grown up with. Coffee will be, forever, a product that people will enjoy in the mornings, in the afternoons, at work and at home with our families.