Ever wonder how this fast-paced world is always fast paced. It’s a little magical ingredient in our drinks called caffeine.
Let’s trace back how this tiny drug ended up in our mugs.
The real legend of coffee is difficult to pin down. Out of the three legends, the story which seemed more likely is the story of Kaldi – An Ethiopian Shepherd.
Kaldi, went out to look for some of his missing goats, only to find them energetically dancing and eating the berries of a little tree he had never seen before. Wondering what was causing these reactions in the goats, he decided to sample the berries himself, feeling a surge of vigor come over him shortly after eating the berries. After this experience, he was resolved to reveal the world his new big discovery.
And so, Kaldi took the berries to a nearby monastery, but the monks disapproved of the unique fruit, fearing that its effects would be associated with the devil. The monks then threw the berries into the fire, creating an incredible smell that drew neighboring people to check what was causing the fragrance.
The burning fragrance of coffee overwhelmed the monks. Surely something that smells this good cannot be from hell, right? The monks removed the roasted beans from the fire. They ground the beans and put it in water, making the cup of coffee in the world.
This mythology may sound like a fairy tale and may not be true, but it is an intriguing approach to the beginnings of this beverage and there should be some truth to it- As they say “There is no smoke without fire”
Coffee has been planted, imported, exported and stolen to have its reach around the world.
The Arabian Peninsula was the birthplace of coffee cultivation and trading. Coffee was grown in Yemeni Arabia by the 15th century, and by the 16th century, it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. Coffee was consumed not just in homes, but also at the many public coffee houses, known as qahveh khaneh, that began to sprout in cities throughout the Near East. People frequented coffee houses for all kinds of social activities, and their popularity was unparalleled. With thousands of pilgrims from all over the world visiting the holy city of Mecca each year, word of this "wine of Araby" spread.
European visitors to the Near East returned with tales of an unique dark black liquor. Coffee had found its way to Europe by the 17th century and was becoming popular throughout the continent.
Some viewed this new beverage with distrust or terror, dubbing it the "bitter invention of Satan." When coffee arrived in Venice in 1615, the local clergy denounced it. The argument was so heated that Pope Clement VIII was summoned. He decided to taste the beverage before making a decision, and he found it so delicious that he gave it papal permission.
Despite the controversy, coffee shops were soon becoming hubs of social activity and communication in major cities across the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, and Holland.
Coffee was imported to New Amsterdam, later renamed New York by the British, in the mid-1600s.
Though coffee establishments sprouted up quickly, tea remained the preferred beverage in the New World until 1773, when colonists revolted over King George III's hefty tax on tea. The Boston Tea Party revolution would forever transform the American drinking preference to coffee.
The Mayor of Amsterdam presented King Louis XIV of France with a seedling coffee plant in 1714. It was ordered by the King to be planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris. Gabriel de Clieu, a young naval officer, received a seedling from the King's plant in 1723. Despite a difficult voyage that included horrible weather, a saboteur who attempted to destroy the seedling, and a pirate raid, he was able to carry it safely to Martinique.
The seedling not only thrived once planted, but it is credited with the proliferation of over 18 million coffee trees on the island of Martinique during the next 50 years. Even more astonishing, this seedling was the mother of all coffee trees in the Caribbean, South and Central America.
The legendary Brazilian coffee owes its existence to Francisco de Mello Palheta, who was dispatched to French Guiana by the monarch to obtain coffee seeds. The French were unwilling to share, but the French Governor's wife, taken with his fine looks, gave him a large bouquet of flowers before he left, burying enough coffee seeds to start what is now a billion-dollar industry.
To be more exact, the revenue generated by coffee as of 2022 is 433 billion dollars. Its funny when we thing about how coffee travelled from dancing goats to a 400 billion dollar commodity.
From the tree map above we can see the work Fransico de Mello Palheta, has built the nation of Brazil as a coffee power house that it is today.
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