A Brief Coffee History

The most probable and romantic legend of history of coffee is the legend that goes something like this: once upon a time there was an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi, who lived in the province of Kaffa in the area known as Ethiopia today.

One day, as he was watching his goat herd, he noticed that some of the goats were eating the berries from a bush. And after eating and chewing red coffee berries, the goats became friskier and more excited. With a flash of insight, Kaldi made the connection between the berries and the extra energy his herd possessed. He gathered some of the berries and boiled them, producing a bitter concoction that had the benefit of warding off weariness.

Dating back as early as 850 B.C., Arabian legends have mentioned the stimulating powers of a bitter black beverage. One of the most influential Muslim physicians known as Avicenna, was using a medicinal beverage that appears to be a variety of coffee by roughly 1000 C.E.

Research of coffee history suggests that the coffee plant originated in Africa, probably in Ethiopia. And from there it spread rapidly to Yemen, Egypt, and Arabia, and quickly became a favorite part of daily life. We also know that red cherry flesh was eaten by slaves who where transported from Sudan to Yemen and Arabia, through a port of Mocha, which is now synonymous with coffee.

The coffee was cultivated probably by the end of 14th and in the 15th century. It is highly likely that the coffee cultivation started even before.

We also know that it was forbidden to export any fertile beans out of Arabia. Why? Because Arabs had a strict policy that allowed them the control over cultivation. The best reason is they wanted to be the only coffee producers.

But in the end they where not successful as the Dutch merchants took live coffee trees and coffee seeds to Europe back in 1616. The coffee trees where then grown in greenhouses and sold to the rich people.

The first 'kaveh kanes' or coffeehouses marked another turning point in the coffee history. They were opened in Mecca and quickly spread throughout the Arab world and became very popular.

They were luxuriously decorated and each had an individual character. But they all had one thing in common. They became a place where society and business could be conducted in comfortable surroundings. Visitors in coffee houses talked about daily life. They exchanged gossip and enjoyed in good music, singing and dancing.

By the 13th century Arabs were drinking coffee religiously. The “bean broth” drove dervishes into orbit, kept worshippers awake, and splashed over into secular life. And wherever Islam went, coffee went too.

 

Coffee History in Asia

With the expansion of European colonialism, there was no lack of suitable climates to test. And coffee came to Asia in 1699 when the Dutch took some coffee to Java (now part of Indonesia) and began the first successful European coffee plantation on the island.

And in very short period of time the Dutch colonies had become the number one suppliers of brawn gold to Europe. Indonesia is now the third largest coffee exporter in the World. Top-grade arabicas are still produced on Java. The Indonesian archipelago is most notable as the world’s largest producer of Robusta beans. Notable Beans: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi.

The French grew coffee in Martinique, and English, Spanish and Portuguese colonists into Asia and South America were quick to follow suit.

 

European Coffee History

The European history of coffee began in 1582, Francesco Morosini, ambassador to the Sultan from the Venetian Republic, sent a report from Constantinople that there were numerous public businesses where people met daily to talk and mingle while they drank a dark, hot, bitter beverage.

Venetian traders first brought coffee to Europe in 1615. But it was largely sold to European nations by the mid-to-late 1500's.

At that period of time two other hot beverages appeared in Europe. Hot chocolate brought by the Spanish from the Americas to Spain in 1528 and tea which was first sold in Europe in 1610.The Venetians opened the first coffee shop in 1640. By 1763, Venice could boast over 200 coffeehouses, and many Italian towns had followed suit.

The most famous coffee house, Caffe Florian in Piazza San Marco served first coffee in 1720. Remarkably it is still open for business today.

If you are in Venice you can stay in hotel Danieli which is historic Venice hotel, dating from the 14th century. It is just 100 meters from St. Mark’s Square and famous Caffe Florian. I have been to Venice many times and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

The new beverage was not openly accepted everywhere. Many Christians believed that to drink a cup of coffee is to commit a sin. It is written that one group of »coffee enemies« beseeched Pope Clemente VII to forbid the consumption of what they termed the devil's brew.

The Pope, however, would not pass judgment until he had tried the beverage for himself. It may or may not be true, but legend has it that after his first sip, he said, "This beverage is so delicious that it would be a sin to let only misbelievers drink it!"

History of coffee in the Americas

The history of coffee in South America begun in the colony of Surinam. It was the first place where in 1718 the Dutch spread of the coffee plantations in Central and South America. Afterwards the plantations in French Guyana and Brazil followed.

In 1730 the British introduced coffee to Jamaica. And it is in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, that the most famous and expensive coffee in the world is grown today. If you don’t know, the coffee is called blue mountain coffee. It has an excellent, smooth and sweet taste in the mouth and a very pleasant aftertaste. You must try it!

It is recorded that by 1777, there were between 18 and 19 million coffee trees on Martinique. Coffee was becoming the number one crop in the New World. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.

In 1825 the coffee was first planted in Hawaii. The Hawaii Islands are still the only US coffee producer. But they do produce a fine speciality coffee.

We presented most important coffee history events that shaped the course of the second most important hot beverage in the World.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Coffee History to Coffee Facts

From Coffee History to How to Make Coffee