A Brief History of Coffee

Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, Westroasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in
Africa.water, creating a crude version of the beverage
According to popular legend a local goat herderwe enjoy today.
going by the name of Kaldi, was watching hisDuring the early 17th century, coffee houses
flock as usual when he noticed that his goatsspread quickly across Europe becoming centres
were acting unusually frisky and were very alert.for intellectual exchange and commerce. Many
Further observation revealed that the affectedgreat minds of Europe used this beverage, and
goats were eating berries from a certain type offorum, as a springboard to heightened thought
bush that he has never noticed before. Kaldi2sand creativity.
curiosity led him to eat some of the berriesIn 1700, coffee found its way to the Americas by
himself and he found that these berries gave himmeans of a French naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu
renewed energy and concentration.de Clieu. De Clieu was on leave from Martinique in
The news of this energy-giving fruit quicklyParis and asked if he could take a clipping from
spread throughout Africa. Monks, hearing aboutKing Louis XIV's coffee plant to take back with
this amazing fruit tried it for themselves and werehim. This request was denied, but undeterred De
keen to distribute it to other monasteries far andClieu later crept into the Kings botanical gardens
wide. Unfortunately the berries would not last thelate at night and stole a seedling.
long journeys involved. The monks soonOn his return journey he carefully nurtured the
discovered that if they first dried the berries theyyoung coffee seedling on the long arduous
would last much longer and would survive the longjourney across the Atlantic. He survived terrifying
journeys to distant lands.storms and attacks by pirates, sharing scanty
Upon reaching their destination they reconstitutedrations of water with his precious plant. This one
the dried berries in water, ate the fruit, and drankplant, transplanted to the Caribbean island of
the liquid. They found that consuming theMartinique, was put under armed guard in his
beverage and fruit gave them more energyestate and incredibly became the predecessor of
enabling them to pray for longer periods of time.over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years.
Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia toIt was from this humble beginning that the coffee
the Arabian Peninsula, and were first cultivated inplant found its way to the tropical regions of
what today is the country of Yemen. From there,South and Central America, then on to Indonesia
coffee travelled to Turkey where beans wereand Asia, becoming the vital beverage enjoyed by
roasted for the first time over open fires. Themost of the world today.