Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Coffee (Coffea arabica), of the Rubiaceae family. Evergreen shrub or small tree bearing fragrant white flowers and red drupes ('cherries'); native range: highlands of south-western Ethiopia and the Boma Plateau; carried early into Yemen and thence to the wider world. Globally recognized as bunn (بن) / qahwa (قهوة) in Arabic, and Arabian coffee, mocha coffee, coffee bean in English. The part used is seed (the roasted 'bean'); occasionally the raw green seed. Green seeds are hard, grey-green and near-scentless; roasting turns them brown, brittle and intensely aromatic, yielding a bitter, faintly astringent brew.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
COFFEE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Coffee
- Scientific name
- Coffea arabica L.
- Family
- Rubiaceae
Form
- Part used
- seed (the roasted 'bean'); occasionally the raw green seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter, astringent
- Unani
- bitter, astringent
Temperature
- Western
- hot
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- nerves · nervous system · heart · kidneys · stomach
- Unani
- brain · heart · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- stimulant, nervine, cerebral excitant, diuretic, cardiac stimulant, mild astringent; antidote to narcotic (opium) poisoning
- Unani
- muharrik (stimulant, of nerve and mind) · mufarrih (exhilarant of the heart) · qabid (astringent), mudir-e-baul (diuretic), muhallil-e-riyah (carminative), dispels drowsiness and headache of cold humours
Cautions
Contraindications: nervous excitability, insomnia, palpitation and tachycardia, anxiety states, hypertension, peptic ulcer and hyperacidity; caution in pregnancy (high intake), and in cardiac arrhythmia
Toxicity: excess brings restlessness, tremor, palpitation, insomnia, gastric irritation and headache; very large doses of caffeine cause agitation, tachyarrhythmia and, rarely, convulsions. Habitual use produces dependence, and abrupt withdrawal a throbbing headache and lassitude.
Interactions
- Western
- stimulants: additive CNS and cardiovascular stimulation with other caffeine sources, ephedrine and sympathomimetics · MAO inhibitors: large caffeine intake with MAOIs may provoke hypertensive/arrhythmic crisis · CYP450-metabolised drugs: caffeine is a CYP1A2 substrate; inhibitors (e.g. fluvoxamine, ciprofloxacin) raise caffeine levels, and caffeine competes with other 1A2 substrates such as theophylline and clozapine · sedatives / CNS depressants: pharmacological antagonism — caffeine opposes and blunts sedative and hypnotic effect · thyroid medication: coffee taken with levothyroxine reduces its absorption; additive palpitation in hyperthyroid states
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