2l6 



COFFEE 



Dadhi-katukan refers to a bad compound meaning sour, coagulated 

 milk; a compound of pungent substances; in some cases, of black 

 pepper, long pepper, and dry ginger. 



Katuka-phala refers to a perfume prepared from the berries of the 

 plant Kakkola. The inner portion of the berry is waxy and 

 aromatic. The scientific name of this plant is unknown. 



Subsequently, in the Hindu languages, one finds the form Karwa 

 (or Karhwa) meaning bitter, acrid, sharp, or pungent. The term 

 became the source of the various forms of Kahwah such as the Persian 

 cahewa; the early Arabic qahwah; and the Turkish kahveh and caheu; 

 all of which existed to the West of India. To the East, the innumer- 

 able variations of it occurred throughout Polynesia where one finds 

 Kawa as the root form meaning bitter, sour, or unpalatable. Its 

 many variations in form, meaning, and reference to specific plants, 

 may be judged by a study of the following table : 



Forms of Kawa or Kawakawa Occurring in Polynesia 

 language form reference 



Samoan 'ava Piper methysticum Forst. ; an intoxicating drink 



made from 'ava ; food ; the beard. 

 'dava pungent, sour, hot, scorching. 

 'ava'ava to be oppressively hot. 

 'avas'ia to be burnt by the sun ; to be poisoned. 

 'avdavasitu Piper insectifugum C. DC. ex Sm. ; P. 



latifolium Forst. 

 'avapui Zingiber zerumbet Rose, ex Sm. also Zingiber 



officinale Rose. 

 'avasa Tephrosia piscatoria Pers. (Used to poison 

 fish.) 

 Tahitian ava Plant and drink called kava; also for all kinds 



of intoxicating liquors. 

 avaava sour, acrid, bitter. 

 to-avaava sour, acrid. 

 Hawaiian awa bitterness; name of a certain plant and the 

 intoxicating beverage prepared therefrom. 

 awaawa sour, bitter, sharp, pungent, harsh. 

 ho-awaawa bitterness; sourness. 

 auahia bitterness; sourness. 



