Coffea arabica

L.

Arabian coffee (E); Cabi (Cu); Cafe (S) . Coffee is grown rarely in lowland Panama but inland Cuna sometimes grown their own, as do all ethnic groups. Coffee is frequently raised in the shade of some other trees. Hungry or thirsty survivalists will find some satisfaction from the ripe beans. Coffee beans, after processing and drying, furnish a stimulating beverage to which many Americans are addicted. Coffee leaves, if cured like tea leaves, afforde a beverage with enough caffeine to serve as a coffee or tea substitute. In India, the leaves are roasted over a fire of bamboo or other wood that gives little smoke. The leaves assume a buff color when done, and are then ground to form an "instant coffee". In bolivia, sultana, a coffee substitute, is made from the bark. In Arabia, the pulp of the fruit, after drying is employed in making a beverage which could be fermented. Coffee flowers are attractive to bees and impart a characteristic flavor to the honey. Dried beans are used medicinally as a diuretic, nervine, and stimulant, which acts on the central nervous system, kidneys, heart, and muscles. It is used as an antidote in opium poisoning, being regarded as antisoporific and anaphrodisiacal. Unroasted beans have been used as a substitute for quinine in intemittent fever. Black coffee has been used in treating typhoid fever and chronic diarrhea. Cold coffee is used by fishermen to wash the smell of fish off their hands.