The Origins of Coffee

Although there are many legends about how and when coffee was found, no one knows for sure.

Ethiopian Folklore

Goats Coffee produced around the world may be traced back generations to the Ethiopian plateau's old coffee woods. Legend has it that the goat herder Kaldi was the first to recognize the potential of these treasured beans there.

According to legend, Kaldi discovered coffee after noticing that his goats got so lively after eating the berries from a certain tree that they refused to sleep at night.

Kaldi informed the nearby monastery's abbot, who made a drink from the berries and discovered that it kept him awake throughout the long hours of nightly prayer. 

The abbot informed the other monks at the monastery about his discovery, and word of the stimulating berries spread quickly.

The Peninsula of Arabia

The Arabian Peninsula was the birthplace of coffee cultivation and trading. Coffee was grown in the Yemeni province of Arabia by the 15th century, and it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey by the 16th century.

Coffee was consumed not only at home but also in the numerous public coffee shops, known as qahveh khan, that began to sprout up in cities around the Near East. The coffee houses were unrivaled in popularity, and people frequented them for a variety of social activities.

Customers not only drank coffee and conversed, but also listened to music, saw entertainers, played chess, and kept up with current events. Coffee shops grew in importance as a hub for information exchange.

As news spread east and coffee reached the Arabian Peninsula, it embarked on a voyage that would eventually take these beans around the world.

They were known as "Schools of the Wise" because of the knowledge exchange.

With thousands of pilgrims from all over the world visiting the holy city of Mecca each year, word of this "Araby wine" began to spread.

Coffee Has Arrived in Europe

Travelers from Europe returned from the Near East with tales of a unique dark black beverage. Coffee had made its way to Europe by the 17th century and was quickly gaining popularity across the continent.

Some people viewed this new beverage with distrust or horror, referring to it as Satan's "bitter invention." When coffee arrived in Venice in 1615, the local church denounced it. The debate became so heated that Pope Clement VIII was summoned to intercede. Before making a judgment, he chose to try the drink for himself, and he thought it to be so delicious that he gave it papal permission.

Despite the issue, coffee houses grew in popularity as social gathering places and communication hubs in major towns across England, Austria, France, Germany, and Holland. In England, "penny universities" came up, so named because a cup of coffee and lively conversation could be had for a penny.

Coffee began to take the place of the popular breakfast beverages of the time, such as beer and wine. Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol started the day alert and invigorated, and the quality of their work improved dramatically. (We like to think of it as the forerunner to today's office coffee service.

There were around 300 coffee houses in London by the mid-seventeenth century, many of which drew like-minded clientele such as merchants, traders, brokers, and artists.

These specialty coffee shops spawned a slew of new businesses. The Edward Lloyd's Coffee House, for example, was the birthplace of Lloyd's of London.

The Brand-New World

Coffee arrived in New Amsterdam, subsequently renamed New York by the British, in the mid-1600s.

Despite the fast emergence of coffee establishments, tea remained the preferred beverage in the New World until 1773, when colonists revolted against King George III's hefty tax on tea. The Boston Tea Party revolutionized the way Americans drank coffee for the rest of their lives.

"Coffee is the civilized world's favorit beverage." - Jefferson, Thomas

Plantations Across the Globe

Coffee cultivation outside of Arabia became increasingly competitive as demand for the beverage grew.

In the latter half of the 17th century, the Dutch were finally able to obtain seedlings. Their early attempts to plant them in India were unsuccessful, but they were successful in Batavia, on the Indonesian island of Java.

The plants grew quickly, and the Dutch soon had a thriving coffee trade. The cultivation of coffee trees was then pushed to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes.

Visiting the Americas

In 1714, the Mayor of Amsterdam gave King Louis XIV of France a seedling coffee plant as a gift. It was ordered by the King to be planted at Paris' Royal Botanical Garden. Gabriel de Clieu, a young naval officer, received a seedling from the King's plant in 1723. Despite a difficult voyage that included bad weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the seedling, and a pirate raid, he was able to successfully carry it to Martinique.

The seedling not only thrived once planted but it is also credited for the spread of approximately 18 million coffee trees on Martinique over the next 50 years. Even more amazing, this seedling was the progenitor of all coffee trees.

Francisco de Mello Palheta, who was sent by the emperor to French Guiana to obtain coffee seedlings, is responsible for the legendary Brazilian coffee. The French were unwilling to share, but the French Governor's wife, enamored with his fine looks, presented him with an enormous bouquet of flowers before he departed, including enough coffee seeds to launch what is now a billion-dollar enterprise.

Coffee seeds were carried to new lands by missionaries, travelers, traders, and colonists, and coffee trees were planted all over the world. Plantations were planted in lush tropical rainforests and craggy mountain ranges. Some crops thrived, while others died out quickly. Coffee economies have given birth to new nations. There were fortunes made and lost. Coffee had become popular by the end of the 18th century.