The History of Coffee

It is difficult to say for certain where coffee originated, but one of the most common stories of origin identifies Ethiopia as the place of its discovery. The story goes that a goat herder noticed his goats were acting strangely after eating the red berries from a particular plant. The goats were running around like crazy and would not even sleep when it was time for them to. The goat herder took some of these berries for himself and after showing them to his wife, she encouraged him to take them to the local monastery. The local monks decided to brew the coffee and after drinking it they realized that it helped them remain alert during their evening prayers.When coffee traveled to the Arabian Peninsula in the 16th century, Muslims discovered that it allowed them to stay awake during their prayers just as local Ethiopian monks did. And it is said it was here, in Arabia, that the cultivation and trade of coffee actually began. Public coffee houses first started during this time period.From Arabia coffee arrived in Europe during the 17th century. Initially coffee was condemned by the Venetian local clergy, but after Pope Clement VIII tasted the drink for himself and approved, it was allowed again. Coffee houses became popular across Europe just as they did in Arabia.From Europe coffee traveled all over the world. Each European power took coffee with them to their colonies: the Dutch took coffee to Sri Lanka, Ceylon and Java; the French to the Caribbean; the Spanish to Central America and the Portuguese to Brazil. And Great Britain was no different, taking coffee to the Thirteen Colonies during the mid-1600s. Coffee did not become popular in the United States until after the Boston Tea Party in 1773.In 2016, coffee has reached almost every corner of the globe. It is the second most valuable commodity second only to oil. An average of 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day. That’s a lot of coffee!AF References:Avey, Tori. "The Caffeinated History of Coffee." PBS. PBS, 08 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-coffee/>.“History of Coffee : All About Coffee History.” History of Coffee : All About Coffee History. N.p., 20 Dec. 2006. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. <http://www.talkaboutcoffee.com/history.html>.“History of Coffee.” National Coffee Association. National Coffee Association of U.S.A., Inc., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/History-of-Coffee>.