Pumpkin & Coffee: A Match Made In... Indonesia!

Reiko Piekarski, Coffee Ambassador | Fortuna Enterprises, LLC

This time of year the changing leaves and cooler sweater weather greet us at Fall’s doorstep. For cafes around the world, the menus are adorned with the seasonal favorites among which include the Pumpkin Spice Latte. For some, the utterance of these three words would produce horror and disgust but for others, they would be received with excitement and joy. Did you know that the spices which make up the signature “Pumpkin Pie Spice” played a significant role in introducing coffee to the rest of the world? Hunker down with your favorite coffee beverage for this little history lesson.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte

It is worth noting that this beverage hardly has any actual pumpkin included. Even if the house-made version at your local specialty cafe would not smack you of pumpkin flavor. What wraps us up like a warm blanket with this beverage phenomenon are blended spices which we have come to associate with as Pumpkin Pie. This magical blend most commonly consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice. A “Pompkin” recipe dated back to 1796 included nutmeg, mace and ginger. So where exactly did these spices come from? 

The Spice Islands

This is not just a common brand found on the shelf at your local grocery store. There is a little more history behind the title. There is a tiny clutch of islands called the Moluccas in the Indonesian archipelago. These islands are known as the “Spice Islands” as they were the source of many spices which we are very familiar with and use today. Cloves, for instance, are indigenous to only two islands in this area and are still cultivated there to this day. Nutmeg and mace trace back to the Banda islands which are in the heart of Moluccas. Cinnamon originated in Sri Lanka and ginger has its roots in China which were then introduced to the islands. The legendary Spice Islands became the point of origin for the Spice Trade. The early masters of the spice trade, however, were the Arabs. What else did the Arabs have control of at the time? Coffee of course!

Dutch East India Trade

Coffee was first commercially grown and traded through Yemen via port Mocha alongside the spices from the Spice Islands. The first people to introduce coffee to Europe were in fact the spice traders. At the time coffee was observed as a kind of spice in and of itself. Early coffee-drinkers would often mix coffee and spice together for consumption. As the spice trade gained traction, the Dutch sought out ways to gain power over the industry. The Dutch East Indies Trading Company was established and it competed against everyone to monopolize the spice trade. The Dutch became crafty as the spice trade lost some steam by diversifying the goods traded to include coffee. The Dutch introduced coffee cultivation to the island of Java which is just south of the spice islands.

Long story short, the spices that we come to associate with this popular fall drink are the very reason why Europe found out about coffee in the first place. The spice trade helped coffee cultivation spread to the rest of the world via these same trade routes. So in essence, the first coffee traders were in fact “Pumpkin Spice” traders as the combination of coffee and these popularized spices were paired together from the very beginning. If you were like myself and scoffed at the idea of Pumpkin Spice Lattes before I hope you can now look to this popular fall drink and pay tribute to the spices that brought us coffee in the first place. Happy Fall everyone!

- Reiko Piekarski

Coffee Ambassador

Fortuna Enterprises, LLC

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Fortuna Enterprises - Want it all? We have it all!

Established in 2000, Fortuna Enterprises is the consummate leader in providing complete and comprehensive solutions for all of your coffee shop needs. Located in Greensboro, NC, Fortuna excels in unparalleled customer service by offering specialty roasted small-batch coffee, a fully stocked warehouse, imports, design, equipment repair, consulting, barista training, and more!

We are compelled to be the unsurpassed authority for all coffee shop requirements. We use this drive to continue our extensive research in carefully selecting only the highest quality coffees, equipment, syrups and other coffee shop necessities. Our products have a proven record of premium industry performance and unmatched reliability. We buy large quantities from our suppliers so we are in turn able to negotiate extremely competitive pricing for our customers. 

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