Caffa
Overview
Caffa is the most widespread beverage across the known galaxy. It is produced in various forms, from natural to synthetic, and has become a symbol of daily life for citizens as well as a reminder of earlier eras.
Origins
Caffa was introduced to the worlds of the three powers by the independent planets. It has a rich aroma and deep flavor and is now rarely found outside aristocratic collections or the laboratories of major food corporations since it does not thrive in most climates. On Olmara and other planets a cultivated variety is grown in climate controlled greenhouses.
Synthetic Variants
Mass demand and the special conditions required for its cultivation led to the establishment of Syntha Caffa, a synthetic substitute made from protein residues and aromatic polymers. In the cities of Olmara such as Selvaron automated vendors offer Syntha Caffa at temperatures and ratios regulated by local food networks. Most citizens have never tasted true caffa.
Cultural Significance
Caffa consumption has taken on a social dimension. True Caffa is considered a luxury product, a symbol of freedom and authenticity in a world of simulations and surveillance. Many seek it not for its taste but for the feeling it evokes, the sense of touching something real.
Usage in Daily Life
In homes on Lastor and other urban planets household robots are often programmed to prepare caffa. Citizens drink it in the morning before work or late at night when drones have withdrawn from the sky. Its smell even in synthetic form is considered the most familiar scent of the human world.
Trivia
- Syntha Caffa corporations advertise that their taste approaches ninety seven percent of the authentic although no one knows the criterion.
- In the student slang of Caelora the phrase I have had too much caffa means I have been awake for days.
- In old posters from the Heptad era caffa was presented as a gift from the gods to humans to help them endure the day.