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Coffee is the most loved beverage in the world, and there has to be a reason for it. But before that, it is important to know where coffee comes from.
Most important discoveries were made accidentally, and coffee is no different. Coffee was found accidentally by an Ethiopian goat herder, Kaldi. Coffee was discovered for the first time in the 9th century when Kaldi noticed his goats excited and energized after gazing at red-cocolored barriers on a certain bush. He ate the berries himself and felt full of energy. He was surprised by the energy the strange berries induced in him. He took some berries to a monk who suspected the berries to be some kind of act of the devil. The monks threw the berries into the fire.
As the berries burn, they emit a mesmerizing aroma. The aroma was so enticing that the monk raked the berries from the fire and crushed them into embers. The monk thought they had made some kind of blunder by throwing the berries into the fire. They preserved the berries in a hot jug of water and drank the newly formed concoction, which helped them stay awake for night-long devotion and prayers.
There are many such stories that claim how coffee was discovered. But if you Google, you will probably find the Kaldi story most popular and trusted.
Yemen also discovered coffee during their travel to Ethiopia. Well, one thing is for sure: Ethiopia is the epicenter of coffee. So, one day, a Yemenite Sufi mystic was travelling through Ethiopia for some spiritual matters when he encountered energetic birds who were eating red barriers. He was tired and exhausted and, therefore, tried the beans to regain the energy. Soon after consuming the berries, the Yemenite Sufi felt energetic.
Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, and traders later brought its plant to Yemen. From there onwards, coffee spread to the rest of the world. By the 15th century, coffee was grown in Yemen. Persia, Syria, Turkey, and Egypt also welcomed the powerful coffee cherries or berries in the 16th century.
Coffee is a great beverage for energizing the body and alerting the mind. It is effective in improving attention and keeping one awake at night for students and late-night workers. In 1475, the first coffee house was opened in Constantinople (Istanbul). Coffee was served as a welcome drink to guests in every home and was included as a daily lifestyle. More and more coffee houses opened, and people liked to visit these places not just to have coffee but to share information, make friends, study, and talk about common interests. Soon, these coffee houses started to be referred to as “School of the Wises”.
Coffee entered Europe in the 17th century with the help of travelers who were overly fascinated by this powerful drink. In Europe, coffee first entered Italy after being imported from the Ottoman Empire. The first coffee house was opened in Venice in 1645. Coffee was an expensive beverage and was mostly consumed by wealthy people. The British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company introduced coffee to England. In 1651, the first coffee house in Oxford, England, was opened. Other coffee offices quickly opened, but they were restricted only to men, where they used to share information, discuss news, and socialize. It is said that many business ventures started from these coffee houses.
In 1669, coffee was introduced in France by Müteferrika Süleyman Ağa (Suleyman Aga), the Ottoman ambassador to the French king Louis XIV. Once, Suleyman Aga visited Versailles wearing simple clothes like a wool coat and refused to bow to Louis XIV. His reluctance to bow to the king led to his banishment to Paris. Suleyman was aware of the magical spell of coffee. In Paris, he introduced coffee for the first time to the Parisian society through waiters wearing Ottoman style. The taste of coffee attracted many, and coffee drinking became a fashion.
About two years later, an Armenian known as Pascal opened a coffee booth for the first time in France at the fair of St.-Germain in 1671. The booth was named “Petit Noir”, which attracted many visitors from across France. In the next 30 years, coffee became a staple beverage in Spain, Germany, Europe, and Austria. However, growing coffee in Europe was not possible because of its colder climate. Coffee was imported into Europe, and later, European traders found a way to grow coffee elsewhere.
Although coffee was traded and became a popular beverage, no one actually had a legal license to sell and buy coffee until 1670. Americans tasted their first coffee in 1607 when Captain John Smith, the founder of the Colony of Virginia, introduced coffee in Jamestown. Mrs. Dorothy Jones, in 1670, received her first license to sell coffee. Mrs. Dorothy Jones was the wife of Mr. Morgan Jones, a minister and school teacher. Mrs. Dorothy Jones was always on the lookout for ways to earn a livelihood and support herself, as her husband was always away. Soon after, Mrs. Dorothy Jones and many others opened coffee houses, and from then onwards, coffee became easily available to everyone.
In the mid-1700s, a rebellion against Great Britain pushed the Americans to object to tea as it was imported from Asia. They started to regard drinking tea as unpatriotic and even threw all the tea into the sea. In 1726, Central America cultivated its own first coffee. Latin America also started the cultivation of coffee. By the mid-18th century, Latin American countries had become one of the top traders of coffee. Today, Brazil is the world’s biggest producer of coffee.