Life Before the Single-Serve Coffee Maker

Believe it or not, coffee didn’t start with perfectly packaged coffee pods growing on trees at your local supermarket. Nowadays, the coffee-making process has changed so much and spread so far that it’s hard to imagine how it got its start. Before it was pre-packaged and available for single-serve machines, coffee started as a curious observation, and it has changed throughout time to become one of the world’s most popular drinks.

Buckle your seatbelts. We’re going to take a journey back in time.

Behold, the legend of … a goat herder

I’m definitely guilty of guzzling a big cup of coffee and bouncing off the walls. Apparently, though, that observation isn't a new one. In fact, it's not far from how coffee was originally discovered. The origins of coffee trace back to Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder who noticed how energized his goats became after eating berries from the coffee tree. He shared these observations with the abbot of a local monastery, who then made a drink with the berries and noticed that it conveniently kept him awake for the long evening prayer. Word of the wonderful effects of this plant began to spread, first to the Arabian Peninsula then to Europe by the 17th century and then, eventually, to the Americas.

How daring are your tastebuds?

Before coffee became our favorite morning drink, it was consumed in many different ways. Some were not so appetizing; others seem like they might not have been that bad. I'm all for protein-rich snack bars, but eating one made of coffee berries and animal fat (as they used to) just does not appeal to me at all. I might try the wine-like drink that was made by fermenting the pulp of the coffee fruit. And I might even have tried the drink that was created from the entire coffee fruit, including the beans and the hull. But in spite of all of these creative approaches to coffee, it wasn't until the 13th century in Arabia that they even got close to the modern version of roasted coffee that I know I love. Coffee had to go through a lot of different experiments with the bean and plant to get there.

In the 2000s, we entered into a world where people have become pretty serious about their multi-step coffee brewing. Meticulous cold brews, slow drip (I still don’t understand who has time for this one), over-the-top espresso drinks — this is the highly fastidious world of contemporary coffee. Some prefer the time-consuming processes, and others, like me, choose single-serve coffee makers that fit in well with the fast pace of modern life.

Coffee machines: the makers of the magic brew

The French sure do seem to know their culinary art. It’s not surprising to learn that the first coffee machine was created in 1818 in Paris, France. The machine functioned like a percolator: a metal pot with a chamber at the bottom and a vertical pipe extending from the bottom chamber to the top chamber. When heated, water would rise up the pipe and infuse the coffee above. If we could have played with coffee gadgets like these in my college chemistry class, I would have gotten much better grades! Imagine having a coffee tasting as extra credit!

Since the days of old chemistry contraptions, countless brewing and preparation methods have been used, from different styles of percolators and filters to Italian stovetop devices to the French press to espresso machines and now to coffee pod machines.

I’ve tried out many of these devices, and I love how many different ways we can now make coffee. But I’ve got to say that despite this long and fascinating history of the evolution of the coffee making, I still love the convenience, affordability and ease of the single-serve coffee maker. Although I guess seeing a goat drinking a cup of coffee would be pretty entertaining.