The History of Coffee

Our society’s fascination and love for coffee has been growing exponentially over the past few decades, but the story of how we got here is perhaps even more fascinating. There is an Ethiopian legend as to how it was discovered, which details that goat herder noticed that his goats ate a berry and became so energetic that they would not sleep. He harvested the berry and got the local abbot to make a drink out of the berries. The drink helped the herder to stay energized through his evening prayers, and when he shared his story with others, the drink gained popularity. Coffee trading began in the Arabian Peninsula as it started being grown in the Yemeni district. It became extremely popular and even led to the opening of coffee shop-like establishments where people enjoyed the drink along with music and socializing. Coffee made its way to Europe with travellers who had gotten it from the Arabian Peninsula, but was not favoured at first. It caused so much suspicion that the Pope had to decide whether the drink was drinkable (which he did). Coffee houses began opening and people began drinking coffee in the morning due to the effects of the caffeine. As coffee made its way to America, it was not able to replace tea, which was the popular drink at the time. This was until the Boston Tea Party (a protest by Americans over the tea tax placed by King George III), which is when coffee took over the nation. Due to its growing popularity, more plantations were developed to meet the demand, and many were the result of colonizations around the world. Today, coffee is arguably the most popular drink in our society and has become a staple in the morning routine of millions of people!