There is no hard evidence on how coffee was discovered discovered, though exists numerous legends about it's origin.
Most of the coffee grown in the world today can be traced back centuries to the ancient land of Ethiopia. The mountainous rainforests of Kaffa has coffee growing in the wild for almost a millennia. However, the most reliable source of the consumption of coffee dates back to the 15th century in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen, spreading to Mecca and then to Cairo in Egypt.
By the end of the 16th century it had spread to the rest of the Middle East, Persia, the Horn of Africa, Turkey, Southern India and the rest of northern Africa.
The Legends
There are two famous legends about the discovery of coffee beens, both which claim to be in Ethiopia. One legend says that while Moroccan Sufi spiritualist Ghothul Akbar Nooruddin Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili was travelling through Ethiopia, he observed the birds of the land feeding on berries, and so he decided to try them.Once he ate them he experienced vitality. Another account credits the discovery of coffee to Sheikh Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhili's disciple, who was famous for curing the sick through his prayers. He was exiled from Mecca to a desert cave near Ousab. With an empty stomach nearing death, Omar decided to eat the berries from a shrubbery he found near by, but it tasted bitter. He then roasted it to improve the flavour, but they turned out to become hard after roasting. So he then boiled them to soften them up, which made the water turning brown with fragrance. Drinking this liquid gave him energy for days.
Another legend is that of Kaldi, an 9th century Ethiopian goat-herder. One day he noticed that his goats ate berries and leaves of a certain plant which caused them to become energised and dance around. He to tried these berries and found himself in the very same condition of that of his goats.
Coffee In Europe
Coffee was introduced to Europe during the 16th century. According to the Television documentary Madwartna, it was introduced through slavery. More specifically Turkish Muslim slaves that had been imprisoned by the Knights of St John in 1565, as coffee was their traditional beverage. The first café was opened in London,England in 1652. By the 1700's there were more than 2000 café in London alone. These café were nick named penny universities because one could buy a cup of coffee for just a penny and sit in the café for hours and listen to the country's most intelligent people talk and debate, resulting in them being more aware and educated. It was these cafés that fostered early capitalism. Fun fact, The East India Company and The London Stock Exchange started as cafés.
Although cafés were popular among men, they were unpopular among women as women were not allowed into cafés at that time.
By the 1770s coffee was popular in Prussia, and so by 1781 it was banned so that the natives would consume more of their traditional drink i.e. beer. Laughable! but this really happened. This brought an uproar among the common man which lead to the ban being removed.
Soon the next big coffee lovers of Europe were the Viennese. They had this great idea of adding sugar and milk to coffee which and called "Kapuziner", which was named after the the colour scheme of Capuchin monks, Brown robes and white hair.
This drink later came to be known as Cappuccino in Italian. In 1669 the Turkish ambassador introduced coffee to Paris. At first the French did not take a liking to the taste but they did take a liking to the energy boots it gave and so it stuck around. Over time the French took a liking in the drink and it played a roll in the French revolution.
Coffee later on spread to the Americas as the conducted trade and commerce, and the rest they say is history.
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