Findyourcoffee.com your Gourmet Coffee Marketplace

History of Coffee

As most of the things we use today, the origin of coffee is full of myths and stories. It is commonly believed that coffee plants were first discovered in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa. We found two versions of the story, that could easily be both true. Remember that in those times communication between towns, reigns, or Empires took months and even years.

The first legend has it that a sheep herder who are often called Kaldi, noticed that the sheep he was taking care of would become hyperactive after eating red cherries from a plant native to the area. The goats were prancing in a field and he started to wonder why they were acting so lively. As any curious person, he tried some himself. He found the fruit of this tree to be fairly bland, vaguely sweet and somehow refreshing. After a few minutes around the meadows he found himself feeling quite lively himself - frolicking and prancing about, getting also into some “goat-herder” interaction.

From here the story divides in two also. The first version says that a monk passed by and scalded Kaldi for his actions, confiscating the fruit. The second version says that once he realized the usual boundaries of propriety between a goat herder and his goats were in a state of alarming deterioration, the goat herder composed himself as best he could, gathered up a handful of the berries, and took them to a local abbot.

Then the story falls into one again. It would be monks of this period that would be among the first coffee enthusiasts. Monks found that the stimulant qualities of coffee allowed them to stay awake for a long period of time, which was useful during long periods of praying and meditation.

This story would seem to confirm the belief that coffee received its name from the Ethiopian province of Kaffa, which continues to be a major coffee growing region in the world today. Harrar is another city in Ethiopia which types of coffee are named after.

The second legend is an alternative claim of the birthplace of coffee being Yemen. Local legend has it that an Arab named Omar and a group of followers were banned into the desert to die of starvation.  Instead of dying, Omar’s group of followers decided that their salvation lay on in the fruit from an unknown plant. After boiling and eating this unknown fruit in a broth, they were able to save themselves. This act of survival was viewed as a religious sign by residents of the nearest town, Mocha, which is renowned for producing the first coffee beans that became popular in Europe and continues to be popular today.

Regardless of whom discovered coffee, the early history of coffee takes place in the Africa and/or Arab parts of the world, although it is believed that coffee plants grew naturally in Europe, where the Galla tribe first noticed the stimulating qualities of coffee.

However, the early use of coffee may not be recognizable now, since, coffee beans were, at first, not used to create a drink. They were wrapped in animal fat to create a mixture that was the only source of nutrition during raiding parties and as a mean of trade.

The first cultivated coffee plant was found by Europeans in Yemen and facts support trade between Yemen and Ethiopia as early as 800 BC. Additionally, evidence does not support the plant would grow wild in Yemen.

It was around the year 1000 A.D. that coffee plants were transported from Ethiopia to Arabia, where they began to be cultivated for the first time on plantations. The origins of coffee as a beverage can be traced back to the Turks, which utilized a unique method of preparing coffee that is still popular in this area. Spices like clove, cinnamon, anise, and cardamom were added to flavor coffee. Turkish coffee continues to be a popular way of preparing coffee.

Up to the seventeenth century, coffee was a treat that could only be found in Arabia. It became more popular around the 13th century, but coffee production was protected vigorously in the region and it was prohibited for coffee plants to be transported outside of any Moslem nations.

Many feel that the popularity of coffee in these early years was fuelled by the Islamic prohibition against alcoholic beverages. The first coffee shop in the world was opened in Constantinople in 1475 and was known as Kiva Han. In 1453, Turkish law was changed that made it legal for a woman to divorce her husband under the grounds that he was unable to provide her with her daily quota of coffee.

Another example of the importance of coffee in these areas is seen in the story of Khair Beg. The governor of Mecca in 1511, Khair Beg attempted to ban coffee fearing that its influence will provoke opposition to his corrupt rule. However, Khair Beg's decision was overridden by the sultan who executed the governor after explaining that coffee was sacred.

While coffee was a jealously guarded secret in Arabia and Africa, it soon spread to other parts of the world. Coffee plants began to appear in India around 1600 and the origins of coffee in India is surrounded by another legend: a revered Moslem holy man from India named Baba Budan smuggled several coffee beans wrapped around his belly out of Mocha after discovering the drink during a pilgrimage to Mecca. With a strong desire to share this wondrous drink with his fellow countrymen, Baba Budan effectively introduced coffee to another part of the world. This act has made Baba Budan a revered saint in India.

The discovery of Mocha coffee beans made coffee a desired drink in Europe and coffee production began to take place in different parts of the world. Due to the rise of colonialism, coffee production is placed in various tropical and subtropical colonies.  Companies like the Dutch East India coffee introduce coffee plants to areas like Indonesia, which would become part of the largest coffee producers in the world today.
Any way, coffee didn't become super popular over a large area until the Ottoman Sultan in Istanbul outlawed it in 1543 because it started to get more recognition than he wanted.

Then it boomed. In 1554, the first coffee house was set up in Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire, by its police power, had a big hand in spreading coffee throughout the European countries, Western Asia, and India. The extreme spread of coffee by outlawing it is proof that you can't legislate something people like. In the case of coffee, the taste needs to be acquired. Coffee is naturally bitter. One must learn to drink coffee. You would think once coffee was outlawed and due to its bitter taste, coffee would have disappeared in the 16th century. This event is a true classical example of the best way to promote something is by outlawing it.

Around the later 1600's, the standard coffee beverage took Europe by storm. Of course, the invasion of Europe the Turks between 1683 and 1699 had a lot to do with it. Coffee however was not greeted without a bit of controversy. Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic Church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. Italian imports of coffee were met with early skepticism from the Vatican. Early Christians viewed it as the devil's drink. Upon hearing these claims, Pope Vincent III decides that he needed to taste it before banishing it.  Of course, Pope Clement VIII loved this tasty drink. Stating that “coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it,” Pope Vincent III decides to baptize it so it would become an acceptable Christian beverage.

During this century, coffee houses begin to open throughout Europe to the delight of citizens. Centers of commercial, political, and social activity, the coffee house became important social institutions. This is a function of cafes that continue to this day. In America, the Boston Tea Party turns drinking coffee into a patriotic act.

In Germany, Frederick the Great's attempt to block green coffee imports leads to such a public disorder that he quickly reverses his decision. Coffee production becomes a major source of income for colonies like Colombia and Brazil that continue to rely on coffee production as a major part of their economic growth, although their main export is of Robusta coffee which is not considered Gourmet Coffee.

In these later centuries, many innovations of coffee have made coffee continue to resonate as a popular drink. Among the three most traded commodities in the world, the popularity of coffee remains.

Coffee's First Name

Coffee "wine" was the first beverage to be named with the original word for coffee: "qahwah." This word does not mean "giver of strength" as is often proposed in books and articles on coffee, but rather comes from an Arabic verb meaning "to put one off." Coffee wine "put one off" sleep when consumed in moderation and "put one off" essentially everything if consumed in excess.
 
In its early years "qahwah" was generally considered a medicinal beverage, probably because of its obvious energizing effect. It was not held primarily as an alcoholic drink because there were other more easily fermented beverages available, notably a form of mead-wine made from honey and water.
 
When Muhammad arrived in Medina, (around 620 A.D.) he found rampant drunkenness in the city. Attempting to restore attention on God, he decreed that the faithful should no longer consume any alcoholic beverages. After a time, only the coffee sun tea, known as qishr, was consumed. Qishr is still drunk today, either as a coffee sun tea or as a beverage brewed by boiling water.
 
It was not until the early 1400s, that brewed coffee was discovered. This was about the same time that metal pots, in which water could be boiled over a fire, appeared in that part of the East. This made it possible for the coffee sun tea to be made more quickly by boiling leaves, cherries, and seeds in water.
 
Arabs were the first to discover how to make coffee using boiling water and green beans. But green beans do not give up the coffeeols because the chemical change caused by roasting has not taken place.
 
The combination of fire and coffee seeds most probably led to the creation of coffee. Perhaps a pot of tea boiled dry or tipped into the fire, giving the world the first (very rustic), brewed coffee from roasted beans. It is believed that coffee roasting using traditional methods came about in the fourteenth century. It came about with the use of iron. However, bronze would have worked just as well. And, as stated earlier, the connection was too quick between roasting the beans and the development of iron roasting bans.
 
Coffee roasting was prevalent in Turkey in 1540's. It is thought that roasting began around Damascus because Damascus iron was easily able to handle the thermal characteristics which were required for roasting. Well, iron pan roasters anyway. The first iron roasters were more like frying pans with a lid. In many countries, the frying pan works great still today. Frying tends to sear the bean and doesn't give an even roast but it works well when there is nothing better. In fact, searing the bean retains much of the moisture and oils whereas roasting dries the bean out. Although consistency isn't one advantage with frying, searing the bean has definite advantages.
 
Venice, Italy lays claim to establishing the first coffee house on the Piazza di San Marco in 1792. The French and Austrians come in a close second by greatly improving the look, style, and ambiance of their shops. From these humble beginnings, coffee spread rapidly throughout Europe and the developed world.