Ever Wonder Just Where Coffee Came From?
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Coffee is one of the most widely drank beverages in the world, and can be found in almost every country. But, most people don’t know the origins of coffee are often unknown by most people. Pondering the origins of coffee is not such an uncommon thing, and many people find themselves asking the same question as others “where does coffee and drinking coffee come from?” This question isn’t simple to answer, but coffee does have its own history and origins that can be used to make it easier to trace back the genesis of coffee. Coffee has a long and interesting history dating back further than most people may think. The history of coffee is one that can be seen as both interesting and bizarre, filled with anecdotes and in many cases mirroring the development of our world’s history.
There are many myths surrounding the origins of coffee. Many believe that coffee plants were discovered by Ethiopians in a province named Kaffa. Apparently, the first coffee plant was discovered by a sheep herder named Kaldi. The story says that this sheep herder noticed that his sheep would become hyperactive after eating the plants of his area. Kaldi wanted to find out the effects the plant would have on humans, so he tried so himself, and also became hyperactive. However, monks began the ritual of drinking coffee. Coffee allowed monks to stay awake for long periods of time, which was useful for long periods of praying and meditation.
The story of coffee being discovered in the province of Kaffa proves how the beverage was so named, and Kaffa is still one of the major coffee growing regions in the entire world. On the other hand, some believe coffee has its roots in Yemen. In Yemen’s legend, it is said that an Arabian named Omar and his followers were banished to the desert and sentenced to die of starvation. Omar and his followers of course did not want to die, so they began eating fruit from a mysterious plant. Boiling and eating the fruit in a broth staved the starvation of Omar and his followers. Residents in the town of Mocha viewed Omar and his followers’ survival skills as a religious sign. The town of Mocha became popular in Europe for producing the first coffee beans, and is still quite popular today. The early history of coffee takes place in African and Arabian parts of the world.
Today, coffee is used for drinking, but the early use of coffee may seem strange to many drinkers now. Coffee beans were not used to make beverages, but were wrapped in animal fat to create a mixture that was used as a source of nutrition during raid parties. In the year 1000 A.D., coffee plants were transported from Ethiopia to Arabia, where they were cultivated on plantations for the first time. The Turks were the first to be known for using coffee as a beverage. Turks used spices like clove, cinnamon, anise, and cardamom to add flavor to their coffee. Their unique method of preparing coffee drinks is still popular today.
Coffee was only a drink that could be found in Arabia until the seventeenth century. Coffee production actually became popular in Arabia in the 13th century, but it was a heavily guarded secret, and it was prohibited for coffee plants to be transported outside of Moslem nations. The first coffee shop was opened in Constantinople in 1475. The shop was known as Kiva. Turkish law actually made it legal for a woman to divorce her husband if he was unable to provide the family with her daily quota of coffee.
Coffee was seen as sacred in many of those Moslem nations. It later became available in other areas of the world, such as India. In the seventeenth century, the discovery of Mocha caused many companies like the Dutch East India companies to begin introducing coffee beans to other countries. The company introduced coffee beans to Indonesia, who is now one of the biggest coffee producers in the world. The origins of coffee may seem inconsistent, but coffee has consistently been one of the most loved beverages throughout history.
