Coffee History
Created on 02 May 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
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Coffee Background & History
The coffee plant is indigenous to the Horn of Africa, in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia. In ancient times, the bean’s stimulating effects were known in the Arab world. Warriors derived energy for battle by grinding the cherries into a paste, which was mixed with animal fat and rolled into little balls.
The History of Coffee: Shrouded in Ancient Myths
Several fables have emerged surrounding the origins of coffee drinking. According to one, an Ethiopian goat-herder named Kaldi noticed that his flock became energetic after ingesting red berries from a nearby tree. After sampling the fruit and noticing its invigorating effects, he passed the berries on to a local imam who dried and boiled them to produce a hot drink. It was subsequently used to stay awake during all night religious ceremonies.
A similar sounding tale involves a mystic from Yemen named Shaikh ash-Shadhili. While traveling in Ethiopia, he observed dancing goats eating berries on the slopes of a mountain. Sampling the berries, he noticed they had a bitter flavour, so he boiled them and drank the concoction. Back in Yemen, he introduced the drink to his disciples so that they would stay awake during his lectures.
Another popular legend surrounds a figure named Omar who was condemned to wander the desert outside the city of Mocha, in Yemen. Disoriented, he heard a voice that instructed him to eat some berries from a nearby coffee tree. After failing to soften the beans in water, he simply drank the fluid, which gave him enough strength to return to Mocha. His survival was interpreted as a divine sign to spread the good news of this wondrous drink.
There is no doubt that during antiquity, the coffee bean plant took on mystical significance, its invigorating effects considered a form of religious ecstasy.
However, one can only imagine what the first cup of hot coffee tasted like!
