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The Legend and Other Historical Facts
It may seem strange but coffee hasn't been around forever! In fact it was not discovered until around 600AD in the Middle East and only came into Europe in the 16th Century. In the 500 or so years since then it has spread around the world and become an international trade.
The Legend
It was a shepherd, called Kaldi, who discovered the use of the coffee bean about four centuries ago, in a region of Abyssinia (Ethiopia).This shepherd drew his attention to some goats, which after eating reddish berries from an evergreen bush became very active and vivacious. This happened several times and the shepherd decided to taste these strange berries for himself. Raw berries were hard to chew, so he took some to the village. The shepherd decided to roast them to make them edible. He tasted some roast beans and his sleepy eyes got wide open. All village people liked it as it kept awake during long prayers. While experimenting with the beans, people crushed the roasted seeds into powder and poured boiling water to make a tasty drink. Word of this discovery spread to a local monastery. It was there that monks experimented with drinks made from the berries. This ‘brew' kept them alert and able to continue their writing and prayer long into the night. So, in this way the coffee grains were used to brew the delicious beverage consumed all over the world nowadays.
Though green beans were used in a boiled infusion beverage well before 1000AD, roasting to produce something akin to modern day coffees doesn't seem to have any reliable history until around 1200AD. However spice roasting was well established in the Middle East long before this time and coffee could easily have been included in the wide range of condiments produced by roasting.
Early Cultivation in Arabia
Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen.
From there, coffee traveled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today.
The arabs were the first, not only to cultivate coffee but also to begin its trade. By XV century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the XVI it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
It's popularity was perhaps due, in part, to the fact that Muslims, forbidden alcoholic drink by Koran, found coffe's energizing properties to be an acceptable substitute. Yemen was the primary source for coffee beans during this time and the Arabians eagerly guarded and protected their increasingly valuable coffee-producing plant.
Though coffee as a crop was wide spread through Arabia and North Africa, the resulting crop was distributed through the Red Sea port of "Al Makha" or Mocha. The trade in Arabica coffee was jealously guarded by the Mocha traders for many years enabling them to control the supply and command high prices. This was achieved by only allowing the export of unviable coffee beans, having been roasted or in some other way heat-treated. Only with the growth of trade with the outside world and the realization of the economic potential of coffee caused pressure on the monopoly the Arabian traders held over the coffee trade.
Coffee Reaches Indonesia
Soon, however, the coffee plants were transported and successfully cultivated by the Dutch on the Indonesian island of Java and later to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes. Through trade and exchange by various European colonies, greenhouses and botanical gardens in Austria and Holland were soon speckled with this exotic plant species. The Dutch proved very successful with this new coffee crop, producing and shipping coffee more cheaply than their Arabian counterparts to the coffee-craving Europeans.
In 1650, the first coffeehouse opened its doors in Oxford, England, its proprietor a Turkish Jew named Jacob. In France, the first coffeehouse opened in 1672. By 1843, there were thousands of coffeehouses throughout Europe and the American colonies.
The Gift that Changed the World
Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. 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. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.
Coffee houses spread quickly across Europe becoming centers for intellectual exchange. Many great minds of Europe used this beverage, and forum, as a springboard to heightened thought and creativity.
In the 1700's, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. 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.
The popularity of coffee in Europe during the 18th century made it a valuable tool for barter and gifting. Wanting to please the king of France, the Mayor of Amsterdam presented King Louis XIV with a single coffee tree as a gift. The king planted the tree in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris where the heat and humidity replicated the Yemen climate and the coffee tree flourished.
In America at this time, only small amounts of coffee beans were imported to the colonies for many years. Eventually, however, Dutch and French smugglers did introduce beans in great quantity, and coffeehouses opened in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and elsewhere. Most were more like taverns the genuine coffeehouses, since they served not only coffee but also chocolate, ales, beers, and wines. They also rented rooms to sailors and travelers. One famous coffeehouse in New England was the Green Dragon in Boston. At first it was popular with British officers, but in later years it came to be the gathering place of John Adams, Paul Revere and other revolutionaries plotting against England.
Across the Ocean to the Americas
Cultivation of coffee in the Americas began during the 1720s when a French naval officer named Gabriel de Clieu transported a single seedling from the King's Royal Botanical Garden to the island colony of Martinique. Though terrible storms destroyed most of the cargo and nearly sank the ship, de Clieu protected the vulnerable coffee plant and delivered it safely. Little did he know that this seedling would become the rootstock for all of the coffee trees throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.
A Romantic Exchange and Brazil
Today Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee in the world. But the journey of coffee to this country was nearly as remarkable as that of de Clieu to Martinique. The French showed little interest in sharing this valuable coffee crop with other colonial powers in the Americas. In 1727, Brazilian Francisco de Mello Palheta approached the Governor of French Guiana about obtaining seedlings and was flatly refused. But the Governor's wife was taken by the handsome Brazilian, and as a going away gift gave him a bouquet of flowers with coffee seeds hidden within. When the seeds arrived in Brazil they were nurtured and flourished.
The Birth of Coffeehouses
The social qualities of coffee were quickly evident and it became a drink for many in public places. The original "coffee houses" in the Near East were similar to those today - a gathering place for conversation, entertainment and the exchange of ideas among intellectuals while enjoying a good cup of coffee.
In 1650, the first coffeehouse opened its doors in Oxford, England, its proprietor a Turkish Jew named Jacob. In France, the first coffeehouse opened in 1672. By 1843, there were thousands of coffeehouses throughout Europe and the American colonies.
By the 17th century, word of the coffee beverage had traveled across the European continent. With increasing demand and the popularity of coffeehouses in England, France, Germany and other countries, coffee became a permanent part of the landscape and daily life. In fact, by the middle of the 17th century, London alone sported between 300 to 2,000 coffeehouses.
Coffee was not immune to controversy during these times, however. During the 13th to 17th centuries a person drinking coffee, or violating coffeehouse restrictions, in the Turkish Ottoman Empire (Turkey) could suffer punishment of severe beatings or even be put to death. When coffee made its way to Italy during the 17th century it was labeled an invention of Satan and condemned by many local clergy. This label was forever lifted when Pope Clement VII tried the beverage for himself, liked it and gave it his approval.
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