The History of Coffee
Evidence suggests that the coffee bean or rather the discovery of the coffee bean happened in Ethiopia. From there, it seems to have made its way to Yemen and Arabia and records of coffee drinking exist from as far back as the sixth century. The legend of how coffee first became such a popular drink goes back to an Arabian goatherd who was tending his goats. Kaldi, the goatherd it is said, was astounded to see his goats dance around a bush with bright red berries and dark green leaves. So of course, he tried the berries and realized the cause of their euphoria. A monk passing by chided him but soon he and the other monks at a local monastery nearby used these berries to help them stay awake for long periods while they prayed and from here it made its way to other monasteries and the coffee epidemic spread throughout the world. Spread to become a stimulant, a passion, an addiction.
When the berries started being brewed is anyone’s guess but soon like grain, the berries or the coffee beans as we know them were being dried, roasted and ground. Of course, in some areas of Africa, the pulp of the beans was fermented and a drink made out of it. Soon coffee drinking became popular in Arabia and Turkey. So much so that the Arabs did not allow it to be taken out of the country. The story goes that one plant was smuggled out and taken to India by an Arab and this was the beginning of the coffee estates there.
For a long time the Church did not accept coffee till it is said Pope Clement VIII tasted it and decided that something so good just had to be enjoyed. Later, as more and more succumbed to the delicious aromatic clutches of coffee, the Ottoman Sultan in Istanbul decided to outlaw it in 1553. This was the best thing that could have happened to this beverage and the whole coffee culture boomed, culminating in the setting up of the first coffee house in 1554 in Istanbul.
It’s still a mystery from where coffee got its name. One suggestion is that maybe it was from Kaffa, the name of a kingdom in Ethiopia. From all accounts, coffee has been growing in parts of Africa for hundreds of years as excavations show. In Uganda, explorers found people eating little balls that were made from green coffee bean pulp mixed with fat. The pulp being sweet, nutritious and strength-giving, it was logical that it would be used by the locals, especially on long journeys.
From then on, coffee took the world by storm. Granted each country and even each little town probably had its own way of brewing it and serving it – but once tasted, the aroma gripped you and made you a slave. Little wonder coffee is so much a part of our lives today.
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