Coffee is for life. It has become so important that even imagining our lives without it is dreadful. We all love coffee, rely on coffee, and officially begin our day with coffee.
But have you ever wondered where this little bean came from? What is the true story behind it? Where exactly coffee originated from, and how it has now become one of the top beverages across the world?
If yes, then, welcome abroad.
Here you’ll discover the fascinating story of coffee’s origin.
Let’s get started!
Where Did Coffee Come From?
Many resources claim that coffee came from Ethiopia.
But the question is: how did this little bean become so popular that today it has become the second-largest commodity traded in the world?
Yes, that’s what we are going to talk about here.
So grab a cup of coffee and be ready to know about the man who has brought coffee to us.
Coffee and an Ethiopian Legend
There was no specific date on which coffee history began. It all started with a legend. He was an Ethiopian goat-herded, named Kaldi.
The story goes that Kaldi in the ninth century, was following his goats and he noticed some strange things in their behavior.
He found that, after eating from a certain tree, the goats started dancing. Yes, dancing! And the goats became so energetic and active that they didn’t even sleep at night.
Kaldi was so shocked and surprised. So, he decided to try the fruit himself from that tree tomorrow.
And after eating from that same tree, he observed the same energetic vibes in his behavior.
Kaldi got excited. Later, he brought his findings to the nearby monastery. However, the religious leaders were not so excited. They were of the belief that it was a Devil’s trick and threw the berries into a fire.
And that was where the magic began!
The unmistakable aroma of the roasted coffee beans drifted through the air and made them realize their mistake. The pleasant aroma caught the curiosity of the monks and they thought of giving a chance to coffee.
And then, the world’s first cup of coffee was made!
The world of coffee started to expand from a single cup in Ethiopia, and it went next to the Arabian Peninsula in the 15th century.
Coffee Comes To Yemen-District of Arabia
In the 15th century, coffee started exporting from Ethiopia to Yemen by Somali merchants. And later on, Yemen started growing coffee and soon coffee was enjoyed in Persia, Syria, Egypt, and Turkey.
Due to the popularity of coffee, many coffee houses came into being which were known as Qahveh Khaneh. In those coffee houses, people not only enjoyed the drink but also played chess, engaged in conversations, and watched performers.
And soon, the news of this magic drink began to spread outside the Arabian Peninsula.
Coffee into Asia
We’ve talked about how coffee was originated in Ethiopia, and how it made its way to Arabs.
Now we’re going to have a look at the history of coffee in Asia.
In the later 1600s, a Sufi saint from India, named Baba Budan, stopped at the Yemeni port while on a pilgrimage to Mecca. From there Baba Budan smuggled some fertile coffee beans back to India and there in the hill town of Chikamagalur, Karnataka he planted the coffee beans. From there, through traders, travelers, and commons, the seed of coffee spread across the continent of Asia.
And by the 19th century, Coffee had already become a commercial crop in India, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Coffee into Europe
The first-ever brewed cup of Joe in Europe, Venice, was in the year 1570.
The initial reaction was the same as happened in the past in Asia, Arabia, and Ethiopia — coffee was named "the Devil's cup".
However, it took no longer when coffee won the hearts of all the skeptics and spread like a rapid-fire in the woods. Even Pope Clement III declared it as a "Christian drink" …
The same happened across the whole of Europe.
In 1652, the UK established its first coffee house.
After winning the Battle of Vienna with the Turks, Austria also opened the first-ever coffee house in 1683.
In France, coffee was brought by a man Mr.Thevenot, a traveler, scientist, and linguist. He took some coffee beans from the Middle East and brought them into Paris in 1657, gave some of them to his friends, and that’s how coffee spread in France.
In Italy, a botanist and a physician, Prospero Alpini imported beans from Egypt, and soon the tasty beverage was loved by Italians. Coffee shops opened rapidly, and the drink became popular amongst the masses.
The history of coffee in Europe remained almost the same in every state. First, it was rejected, but soon after, people started to replace other beverages like beer and wine with coffee. A hot and fresh cup of Joe became the go-to thingamajig for social, religious, and political gatherings in Europe.
Coffee and Americas
The coffee plantation in America was heroic. Gabriel de Clieu, a young navy officer, after passing terrible storms in the Caribbean, sifting through pirate attacks; planted the coffee seeds in the Martinique Island, in 1720. The coffee plant was a gift by the Mayor of Amsterdam to King Louis XIV.
Half of the century passed, and there were millions of coffee trees across the Island. Martinique, in fact, pioneered coffee in America.
Soon after that, coffee beans spread across the Caribbean, South and Central America.
What’s astonishing is that Brazil, a part of Latin America, produces more coffee than the rest of the world combined. Brazil has been holding this title for more than 150 years…boy, that’s a lot of time being a King of Coffee.
Conclusion: Coffee Today …
Coffee needs no introduction today. From a five-year-old skinny kid to a young masculine man in his mid-twenties, and to a senior after retiring — coffee is embedded in our DNA.
Here are some jaw-dropping facts about coffee:
400 million cups of coffee are daily consumption in America.
Almost 167 million 60kg coffee bags were consumed in 2020-2021.
The global trade value of coffee is approx. 33 billion dollars annually.
Coffee had an amazing past, and an astonishing future lies ahead. More and more interesting facts about coffee are being discovered every day.
So, it is needless to say, coffee is here to stay.
