Coffee in Acheron Rho

The production of coffee in Acheron Rho is mostly limited to two species of bean, *Coffea tiberis* and *Coffea cabina*. Coffee has traditionally been a drink of the sector’s elites but with more planets growing the crop, more people are starting to enjoy quality coffee. Most coffee trade is regulated by House Eridanus and its Acti Coffea.

*See also: Tea in Acheron Rho*

## ***Coffea tiberis***

*See also: Coffea tiberis*
The first coffee beans in Acheron Rho are believed to have been cultivated on the planet Tiber in the Alvero System. A native plant of the jungle planet’s highlands, the berries of *Coffea tiberis* are dried, roasted, and ground to produce much of the coffee of Acheron Rho. Growing and harvesting processes of *Coffea tiberis* was a closely guarded trade secret between A.C.R.E. and House Eridanus until the merge of the two entities in 3200. This restriction, and the fact of the precise climate of Tiber, means that any illegal export of coffee seeds and saplings from the planet often results in decreased yields and inferior cups. With variations of the beans grown off-world, the scientific name for the Tiberian bean is technically *Coffea tiberis tiberis*. Today the Acti Coffea, an Erdanii trade guild, monitors the production and sale of coffee.

### ***Coffea tiberis yaki***

Together with A.C.R.E., *de jure* Yakiyan Eridanii established widespread cultivation of low-grade coffee sometime during the First Imperial Civil War. Both the less-than-ideal growing conditions and the sub-par initial strains of *Coffea tiberis* brought to Yakiyah have created a subspecies of that is poorly regarded by connoisseurs. Yakiyah’s tropical regions, including the city of Neo-Medellin, and recently Ronaseen, are the only locations where these beans will grow without cost-prohibitive cultivation. Mass production of this coffee, especially under A.C.R.E. farming standards, has created a mostly uniform bean with few regional variances. With the folding of A.C.R.E. farms into House Eridanus in late 3200 and the later removal of the Yakiyahn Mandate, Eridanii nobles have reclaimed direct control of the Yakiyan coffee market. The thousands of farms have been split up between surviving Yakiyan Eridanii, old Tiberian coffee families, and young nobles. Most commonly, Yakiyan coffee is processed for bulk shipments of premium instant coffee. Made from real beans, unlike A.C.R.E.-style artificial instant, this coffee is often a weekend treat for hardworking serfs or the daily fare of impoverished nobles.

### ***Coffea tiberis dio***

A narrowband of the Diomikatan green-belt is a perfect growing region for this subspecies. No one knows exactly how the Tiberian bean spread to Diomikato prior to The Scream, but in any case, the planet has benefited significantly from it. Officially named *Coffea tiberis dio*, the coffee from House Aquila’s homeworld fuels the Imperial Legions and is rarely consumed outside of the military. A popular idiom is:

The **Diomacchiato** is by far the most common way the locals serve coffee. To be a true Diomacchiato, they must be made with at least fifty-percent of roasted Diomikato beans that are finely ground to order. A single shot of espresso is poured into an obsidian rock glass and is served with a light marking of milk-foam.

### ***Coffea tiberis valua***

In a similarly unknown means as Diomikatan coffee beans, tiberian beans were brought mysteriously to Intaglio (formerly known as Valua) before The Scream. The planet has a deep connection to House Eridanus; the cities of Acamar, Irrios, Zaurak, and Orodur all can trace their roots to pre-scream Eridanii nobles. Intaglio’s climate, not too dissimilar to Tiber in its wetter and warmer regions, is capable of sustaining coffee beans. A subspecies of the Tiberian beans, *Coffea tiberis valua* thrives here and is marked principally by yellow to orange foliage. Like many other florae of Intaglio, the plant’s leaves contain high levels of xanthophyll which protects plants by modulating the light energy.

Cultivation of Intaglio’s coffee is mostly limited to noble descendants of the first Eridanii on the planet. Very little is produced for the wider sector and has traditionally been reserved for nobles and exalted persons. With the advent of Intaglio Office of Unification by The Trilliant Ring, coffee produced on Intaglio reaches markets across the sector, often as Trilliant affiliated brands such as Aldwyne Delights.

## ***Coffea cabina***

*See also: Coffea cabina*
Much maligned by Tiberian growers, the scientific marvel of *Coffea cabina* is a wonder of both bioengineering and marketing.

A distant relative of *Coffea tiberis*, *Coffea cabina* is an extensively modified and hybridized plant designed to survive in the chilly and devastated biosphere of the planet Cabina. Working closely with House Triangulum, the Anciatta (later localized to Ankhayat) family of House Eridanus brought the Tiberian beans to Cabina with grand designs. Shepherding the development of hardy, cold-resistant coffee plants, the Ankhayats eventually developed a viable product able to withstand the planet’s dioxins and brew into an agreeable cup of coffee.

The Ankhayat family, headed by Quantess Eridanus Ankhayat Kirsten, own the entirety of the Cabinan domestic coffee market via the Ankhayat Coffee Company and utilize their profits for charitable initiatives on the planet and in the region. It is not uncommon to hear people talk of Cabina as where “pretty much all of the coffee in Acheron Rho comes from.” Less than a decade ago that claim would have laughed at, but the marketing power the Ankhayat’s has greatly shifted public perception of the coffee trade, even if the figures might say otherwise

*Coffea cabina* is a catch-all term for all Cabinan subspecies but is actually three different plants:

### ***Coffea cabina toterrae***

The scientific name for the common Cabinan coffee plant that is usually referred to as simply *Coffea cabina*. It takes its name from the planet’s sole continent, Toterra. Of the three subspecies of Cabinan coffee, it produces the most authentic cup of coffee and most resembles the Tiberian equivalent. Compared to the traditional *Coffea tiberis* plant, it is physically shorter as an adaptation to survive colder temperatures. Beyond the beverages that can be generated from the dried and roasted berries, the plant itself is designed to process and neutralize various elements of dioxin poisoning present in the biosphere. It is the flagship product of the Ankhayats and are grown everywhere they are permitted to be planted--large plantations, small mainland settlements, archipelago communities, and within biodomes.

#### **Kaffea Arabica**

This coffee process is the brainchild of the Cabinan Governor, Grand Chemex Chemical Engineer Triangulum Arabica Kaldi, one of the most gifted experts on the biochemistry of coffee who helped the Ankhayat family on the *Coffea cabina* project, before separating after creative differences.

The Triangulum scientist discovered in his research that the Varrjac, an amphibious species native to Cabina and one of the few unmitigated success stories of the planetary restoration efforts, possessed an extraordinary digestive tract. When Varrjac consume coffee beans they do not digest them but instead ferment the beans in their stomachs before ‘belching’ them back up. With the right diet, this natural process can lead to some of the most exquisite cups of coffee in the sector. Those who have the fortune (in both senses of the word) to taste Kaffea Arabica have declared they can never have any other kind of coffee ever again. The complex and time-consuming process to create the coffee is unsuited for mass production and is only sold to a select clientele of predominantly Triangulum friends and associates, outside of the Acti Coffea’s jurisdiction.

#### **Cabina Cottea**

From the minds of Cabina, a “solution” to the local caffeine wars was found in Cottea. It is a tea derived from the flesh of *Coffea cabina* beans. It could also be made from traditional Tiberian beans, but Cabina is the largest market for the coffee/tea hybrid.

### ***Coffea cabina canomeris***

A mangrove-coffee hybrid, *Coffea cabina canomeris* is most commonly found surrounding the islands of Oceanic Cabina|Cabina’s ocean archipelagos. Canomeris forests are also present in various continental deltas, with an especially extensive network at the mouth of the Canomere River (from which the plant gets its name). The canomeris subspecies is particularly successful in areas where coral reefs are being reestablished. The deep roots of the plant are adapted for processing dioxin pollution, and the integration of mangroves and coral reefs helps to stabilize both of these entrants into the ecosystem and provides valuable habitat for marine fauna.

### ***Coffea cabina maromnis***

A kelp-coffee hybrid, *Coffea cabina maromnis* takes its name from the planet’s ocean, Maromnis. It mainly grows off the coast of equatorial-band archipelago communities, but is also cultivated by communities that make their homes along the frozen coastlines and oceans of the arctic caps. Saline-resistant coffee beans grow just under the air-pockets of the towering kelp, and these are clipped from the stalks by trained divers before being dried and processed. This crop is particularly popular with immigrants from Shān, Intaglio, Yakiyah, and Aomori, many of whom bring to Cabina long cultural experience in kelp cultivation. These communities also specialize in the harvesting of the kelp portion of the plants for various other applications.

## **A.C.R.E. Instant™**

The artificially and synthetically produced coffee analogue, **A.C.R.E. Instant™** was one of the sectors more popular drinks. With an inoffensive aroma, a tolerable toasted flavor, and passible acrid aftertaste it was a truly one-of-a-kind drink that was unlike to what it was initially developed to emulate. Fulfilling a similar role to A.C.R.E. Tea BRICKs, A.C.R.E. Instant™ was commonly seen in offices and worksites to maintain employee caffeine levels throughout the day. It’s greatest side effect often confused it with the rapidly acting laxative A.C.R.E. I.N.S.T.A.N.T.™. Cheap and mass-produced, this instant black sludge was the vehicle of caffeine delivery of choice for many workers.

### **Demnophi Instant Coffee**

The exact formulation of A.C.R.E. Instant™ was lost during the audit of the company. The five noble families who seized the Demnophi factories and supply lines after the corporation’s collapse each use a different recipe and none have quite reconstructed the drink mix. These beverages are unofficially referred to as *A.C.R.E.-style instant coffee*. Marketed as “new-and-improved” or even “refined” revisions of the corporation’s drink, they all fail to meet either production efficiencies or match the quality of their predecessor. Consumers have reacted negatively to the new brands with isolated caffeine-strikes at workplaces and illegal stockpiling of A.C.R.E. Instant™. With danger on the horizon, the Acti Coffea coordinated the five high companies producing this inferior drink-mix to combine their operations together. A blended product made equal parts of each operation was created and marketed as **Demnophi Instant Coffee**, a revival of A.C.R.E.’s invention. Although not identical to the corporation’s formula it proved to be close enough to appease some of the masses.

## **Acti Coffea**

Production and distribution of coffee are managed by the Eridanii guild, the Acti Coffea. Developed after land and facilities were seized from A.C.R.E. during the audit, the Acti is a collection of noble families who set price and quality standards for most of the sector’s coffee. Almost all members of the guild are from House Eridanus, but not all. Prominent members include the Actimaestri Eridanus Strix Memoranda, the Nivillion family, and recently the Ankhayats of Cabina. With the expansion of direct management of the Yakiyan coffee fields and roasteries in 3201 and greater cooperation with Diomikantan growers, the Acti has relaxed on its favoritism of Tiberian beans.

The Acti Coffea has had a rough relationship with the Ankhayats, but with the growing number of Eridanii owned operations on Yakiyah, a deal was reached. Coffee purists from Tiber conceded the market power of the Cabina crop and invited the Ankhayats into the coffee guild. However, the guild added modest restrictions to all non-Tiberian beans to keep them out of the extreme luxury markets. An influx of *Coffea cabina* into the core systems following the change in regulations rocked the HEX stock market, but the initial shakeups have come to an equilibrium.