The history of coffee is, well, complicated. We generally understand it to have originated in Ethiopia and making a rather prodigious stop in Yemen before proliferating around the world. But how, exactly, did it go from Africa to Western Asia to spanning the Coffee Belt and beyond?
For that, there is the all new World History & Geography of Arabica Coffee Cultivars poster set by Royal Coffee. Spearheaded by Chris Kornman, the Director of Education at The Crown: Royal Coffee’s Lab & Tasting Room and the author of Green Coffee: A Guide for Roasters and Buyers, the infographic traces the lineage of Arabica coffee, not just genetically, but by time and place.
Released last week, the two-poster sets traces “nearly 20,000 years of coffee evolutionary history,” following the movement of coffee over time through Africa, Asia, and the Americas. What started as a “quick graphic” in short order became “a full-fledged survey of history, geography, and coffee horticulture.” Kornman spent months compiling genetic data and historical information for Arabica coffee, before turning the findings over to Jeremy Yingling and Randy Krum at Infonewt, a Dallas-based infographic design firm.
The result is an easy-to-follow visual representation of the movement of Arabica coffee through 400 years of relocation, hybridization, and mutation across the three major continents it can be found.
The World History & Geography of Arabica Coffee Cultivars poster set is currently available at The Crown in Oakland or online at Royal’s webstore. Both 24″ x 36″ posters can be purchased for $29.99, or if you’d prefer to print them yourself, a digital download of high-resolution PDF files is available for $10.
It’s a great time to be a lover of coffee posters. First it was World Coffee Research back in September releasing their coffee varieties poster, offering a look at coffee lineage through a genetic lens. And now, Royal Coffee’s World History & Geography of Arabica Coffee Cultivars poster set gives a spatiotemporal context. For more information or to purchase your own copy, visit Royal Coffee’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
