Famous Things

Coffee

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

Coffee 1. Do you drink coffee? If so, how many cups of coffee
do you drink everyday?
2. Where do you think coffee originated?
Coffee is a drink made from the beans of the arabica tree, a small
tree that grows in tropical climates. The beans are harvested from 3. When do you think people first started to drink coffee?
its fruit. 4. What country do you think is the largest coffee
producer in the world?
The arabica tree grows wild in Ethiopia. About 1,000 years ago, 5. In what kind of climate is coffee produced?
monks noticed that after eating its berries, they stayed awake longer
and had more energy. Other Africans made wine from the berries or
mixed them with fat and ate them.

Sometime later, seeds of the tree arrived in the Arabian Peninsula,

where the plants have been grown ever since. Arabians discovered
how to take the beans out of the berries, roast them over high heat,
grind them up, and boil them in water to make “kahweh” (coffee).

Coffee became very important to Muslim people. Their religion

forbids them to drink alcohol, but they could drink coffee with their
friends. By the 1300s, Arab traders and Muslims traveling to the
holy shrine of Mecca were telling other Muslims about “kahweh.”
Coffee made its way to Turkey in the 1500s and to Italy in the
1600s. A trader from Venice introduced it to northern Europe, where
coffeehouses became very fashionable.

Coffee was not grown outside of Africa or Arabia until the late
1600s. The Arabians tried to control its production, but in 1616,
some Dutch adventurers stole an arabica tree. The Dutch used it to
start coffee plantations in their colonies in Indonesia and the South
Pacific. COMPREHENSION ✍
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
In 1723, a French naval officer managed to get a tree to Martinique, statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
a French colony in the Caribbean. Fifty years later, coffee trees were false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
growing throughout Central America.
1. Coffee beans are harvested in tropical climates.
In 1727, a military aide to the Emperor of Brazil snuck a tree 2. Africans made wine from the bark of the arabica tree.
branch out of French Guiana. By 1906, Brazil was the world’s
largest coffee producer and still is. 3. Coffee was first made in Arabia.

4. Muslim people are not allowed to drink coffee.

Today, about 50 countries produce coffee for world markets.
5. Brazil has been the world’s largest coffee producer for
over a hundred years.

1
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 Famous Things
Coffee

B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.

1. What effect did the berries of the arabica tree have on the ancient Africans who ate them?
2. How did Arabians first make coffee?
3. Why did coffee become important to Muslim people?
4. How did people in Europe eventually learn about coffee?
5. Why was coffee not grown outside of Africa and Arabia until the late 1600’s?
6. How were the Dutch able to start coffee plantations in their colonies?
7. How was Brazil able to start to produce coffee?

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. tropical a) religious

DISCUSS
_____ 2. harvest b) went secretly, took secretly
_____ 3. roast c) a large area of land for growing crops 1. Why do you think so many people like
to socialize over a cup of coffee?
_____ 4. grind d) cut and gather crops from the land
_____ 5. forbid e) an assistant, helper 2. What is de-caffeinated coffee? Is it
_____ 6. shrine f) a religious place or monument popular in your country?
_____ 7. holy g) a country or territory controlled by another country
_____ 8. fashionable h) crush into powder 3. Do you think the people who harvest
coffee beans are well paid for their
_____ 9. adventurer i) someone who likes exciting travel
work?
_____ 10. plantation j) not permit, not allow
_____ 11. colony k) cook in a hot oven or fire 4. Many coffee shops now sell “fair trade”
_____ 12. aide l) related to an area that is near the equator and very hot coffee. What do you think this means?
_____ 13. snuck ( sneak-present tense) m) in style

B. Choose the right word from the left column above to complete the following sentences. (You may have to change the verb
form or pluralize a noun.)

1. I like to ______________________ potatoes with garlic and onions. They’re delicious.

2. You can’t see the company president today, but his ______________________ can help you.
3. Many former British ______________________ are now independent countries.
4. Robert’s wife ______________________ him to smoke in the house. If he wants to smoke, he must go outside.
5. She comes from a ______________________ climate, so she can’t get used to our cold weather.
6. Her clothes are always very ______________________ .
7. He didn’t want his parents to know that he got home late, so he ______________________ into the house very quietly and went
right to bed.

2
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 Famous Things
Coffee

ANSWER KEY

Please note: The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).

PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1 - 5. individual answers

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1. T 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T

B. Written Answers
1. They stayed awake longer and had more energy after eating the berries.
2. They took the beans out of the berries of the arabica tree, roasted them, ground them up, and boiled them in water.
3. Muslims were not allowed to drink alcohol, but coffee was something they could drink with their friends.
4. Traders to Arabia and Muslims traveling to Mecca talked about coffee and it eventually made its way to Turkey, Italy,
and northern Europe.
5. The Arabians wanted to control the production of coffee.
6. Some Dutch adventurers stole an arabica tree from Arabia, so the Dutch were able to use it to start coffee plantations in
their colonies.
7. Brazil was able to start coffee production after a military aide to the Emperor of Brazil took an Arabica tree branch out
of French Guiana and brought it back to Brazil.

VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Matching
1. l 2. d 3. k 4. h 5. j 6. f 7. a 8. m
9. i 10. c 11. g 12. e 13. b

B. Choose the correct word

1. roast 2. aide 3. colonies 4. forbids 5. tropical 6. fashionable 7. snuck

3
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 Famous Things
Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a drink made from the beans of the arabica tree, a small tree that grows in tropical climates. The beans
are harvested from its fruit.

The arabica tree grows wild in Ethiopia. About 1,000 years ago, monks noticed that after eating its berries, they
stayed awake longer and had more energy. Other Africans made wine from the berries or mixed them with fat and
ate them.

Sometime later, seeds of the tree arrived in the Arabian Peninsula, where the plants have been grown ever since.
Arabians discovered how to take the beans out of the berries, roast them over high heat, grind them up, and boil
them in water to make “kahweh” (coffee).

Coffee became very important to Muslim people. Their religion forbids them to drink alcohol, but they could
drink coffee with their friends. By the 1300s, Arab traders and Muslims traveling to the holy shrine of Mecca
were telling other Muslims about “kahweh.” Coffee made its way to Turkey in the 1500s and to Italy in the
1600s. A trader from Venice introduced it to northern Europe, where coffeehouses became very fashionable.

Coffee was not grown outside of Africa or Arabia until the late 1600s. The Arabians tried to control its
production, but in 1616, some Dutch adventurers stole an arabica tree. The Dutch used it to start coffee
plantations in their colonies in Indonesia and the South Pacific.

In 1723, a French naval officer managed to get a tree to Martinique, a French colony in the Caribbean. Fifty years
later, coffee trees were growing throughout Central America.

In 1727, a military aide to the Emperor of Brazil snuck a tree branch out of French Guiana. By 1906, Brazil was
the world’s largest coffee producer and still is.

Today, about 50 countries produce coffee for world markets.

4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.