coffee history - good coffee

The Legend of coffee has it that around 700BC an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats activity level rise, they had been eating red berries from a bush with dark shiny leaves. Curious he tried some and thus experienced his first coffee hit. Amazed at this new sensation he collected the coffee cherries and brought some to the local monk who brewed the berries into a strong bitter beverage. The caffine effect was enjoyed and quickly became popular amongst the monks, allowing them to stay awake during long hours of prayer. In this way becoming a holy drink.

Unlike today's coffee made of the roasted coffee beans the coffee plant continued to be eaten for many centuries purely for its berries which were transported from Ethiopia to Yemen. In the 6th century in Yemen the coffee plant was first cultivated and has continued to be grown ever since.The pulp of the coffee cherry is sweet, the bitterness comes from the seed (also called the bean). In some places the green unroasted coffee beans were ground up, mixed with animal fat and compressed into small lumps for the weary traveller.

As a drink the Arabs were the first to use the green coffee bean alone. The beans would be crushed after the pulp and skin had been removed. This mixture would be added with water creating the coffee drink. This was also believed to be medicinal, especially good for coughs and asthma.

The roasting of coffee did not become popular until the 14th century and even then, for many years the drink was consumed along with the grounds. In the early 1500s roasted coffee was being traded all over Arabia; from Turkey to North Africa.

The Arabian coffee house became the place to meet; where minds could ponder on worldly events. Attracting artists, stuggling writers and travelers who gathering to sip the drink and escape the heat of the day. Patrons listened to jazz, played chess and argued about religion and politics. Alot was discussed, little of it achieved. But still free spirited thought was at work and in the late 1500’s, European visitors and traders took notice. Already trading Eastern spices,silks and perfumes, coffee beans were quickly incorporated.

Once in Europe this new beverage fell under criticism from the Catholic church calling it the drink of the devil. The Pope however, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a Christian beverage. The Arabian coffee market flourished as popularity grew. Strict laws kept Arabia the sole exporters. European's caught with a coffee plant in Arabia could be punished with death. It took some time before plants were able to be smuggeled out of the country.

Around 1700 AD the demand for coffee rose and cultivation spread worldwide ,the Dutch got hold of the coffee plant and started plantations in their colonies in Indonesia. The coffee was introduced and grown in Timor, Bali, Java, and Sumatra. The British and French soon followed. Coffee found its way to America by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured a small plant on its journey across the Atlantic. This plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was in this way the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America, establishing coffee plantations in colonies through America and India.

The progression of coffee to today can be followed by the emergence of coffee houses. By 1843, there were thousands throughout Europe and the American colonies. Today the coffee house, the cafe remains a place where friends can meet, intellects can discuss, music is played and a student can sit writing in the early hours.

The History of Coffee

The history of coffee begins in Ethiopia.