A History of Coffee

Coffee is one of the most loved beverages in the world today, but not many people know how it became a household drink. If you're aiming to be a true coffee connoisseur, or you just want to know more about your morning cup of joe, here is a short history of the coffee bean.

How Goats Discovered Coffee

According to the National Coffee Association U.S.A., there is a theory that a man from Ethiopia named Kaldi first discovered coffee. After his goats ate a certain type of berry, they would become too excited to sleep. After eating the berries himself, he was also energized and alert. He brought the berries to a local monastery where the monks boiled the berries to make a drink that would later become popular throughout the region, and eventually the world.

Arabian Origins 

The coffee plant originated in Africa, and it's from there that coffee was first distributed. Nomadic tribes ate the coffee berry long before anyone ever turned it into a beverage. In the 13th century, Muslims first began to make the coffee that we drink today.

Although people in Africa and Arabia loved the beverage, they wanted to stay in control of its production, so exporting it was banned. However, the ban ended when a Dutch traveler smuggled out a plant. By 1616, coffee was grown in the Netherlands, with other European coffee growers following soon.

The drink of Patriots 

When coffee made its way to the young country of America, it was embraced for a different reason. In 1773, the Boston Tea Party occurred, with colonists dumping shiploads of tea into the river in protest of their British rulers. From then on, drinking tea was seen as unpatriotic, which opened the door for coffee to take its place and become the drink of choice for the New World.

In just a few centuries, coffee has evolved from a wild berry to a beloved household drink many wouldn’t want to live without. With an estimated 2 billion cups brewed each day, coffee has become an extremely important part of our world today!