Many of us like to start our day with a nice cup of coffee, or enjoy warming up after a day in the cold by brewing up a fresh pot. It seems coffee has become quite a regular necessity of our sleep deprived society. This energy inducing fruit has been fueling societies for over 1200 years. In fact, this common product of today’s world has quite an exciting and extensive history.
Legend has it that in the 9th Century an Ethiopian goat herder by the name of Kaldi noticed his heard joyfully frolicking and dancing from one coffee shrub to the next. After trying a few of the bright-red berries himself Kaldi was soon experiencing the heightened level of energy and awareness as well. Curious about this experience, Kaldi took some of the coffee cherries to a local monk who boiled them to make a strong and bitter beverage. The effect of caffeine in the drink became very popular in the monetary as it helped the monks stay alert during their long hours of prayer.
In its early history coffee was not consumed as we know it today, because of its sweet pulp the coffee cherry was eaten alone or with the seed (bean). It wasn’t until the 11th century that the Arabians roasted and brewed coffee as we do. By the 13th century, coffee had become a staple of the Muslim world; fueling dervishes and keeping devout worshippers awake. Wherever Islam went, coffee followed suit. By parching or boiling the beans the Arabians insured no coffee trees were grown outside Africa or Arabia. A European in possession of a coffee tree or seed was an act punishable by death; the Europeans had to buy all of their coffee from the Arabs. By 1600 an Indian pilgrim, Baba Budan, had successfully smuggled coffee seeds out of Mecca; ending the Arabians domination of the trade.
After a visit to the Turks in 1615 a Venetian merchant introduced the coffee bean to the ports of Italy. Not interested in paying for the beans, the Europeans were in a race to grow their own. The Dutch were the 1st to bring a coffee plant back to Europe, since the coffee plant cannot tolerate frost the Dutch developed a coffee-estate on the former colonial island of Java. Business boomed for the Dutch as they spread to islands surrounding Java. Overconfident, Amsterdam started giving coffee trees as gifts to aristocracy across Europe.
The Dutch gave one of these trees to Louis XIV for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Paris. A French Naval officer stationed in Martinique envisioned Martinique as a French version of Java and wished to get a few clipping from the coffee tree in Paris. After Louis XIV denied the officers request the officer planned a midnight raid of the Gardens; stealing part of the coffee tree and making way for Martinique. This clipping would yield about 18 million trees over the next 50 years and would supply many progeny to the countries of Latin America.
In 1927 Brazils ever growing interest in the booming coffee trade came to a culmination. With a perfect climate for the coffee tree Brazil was destined for success in this industry, they just didn’t have any seeds or trees. In comes Lt. Col. Francisco do Melo Palheta, who is dispatched to French Guinea to facilitate a border dispute. Not wanting to cause a ruckus and break into the fortress like coffee plantations, Francisco swindles the governor’s wife who presents the sneaky Brazilian with a bouquet of flowers spiked with coffee seedlings; thus, the beginning of the greatest coffee empire in the world.
Legend has it that in the 9th Century an Ethiopian goat herder by the name of Kaldi noticed his heard joyfully frolicking and dancing from one coffee shrub to the next. After trying a few of the bright-red berries himself Kaldi was soon experiencing the heightened level of energy and awareness as well. Curious about this experience, Kaldi took some of the coffee cherries to a local monk who boiled them to make a strong and bitter beverage. The effect of caffeine in the drink became very popular in the monetary as it helped the monks stay alert during their long hours of prayer.
In its early history coffee was not consumed as we know it today, because of its sweet pulp the coffee cherry was eaten alone or with the seed (bean). It wasn’t until the 11th century that the Arabians roasted and brewed coffee as we do. By the 13th century, coffee had become a staple of the Muslim world; fueling dervishes and keeping devout worshippers awake. Wherever Islam went, coffee followed suit. By parching or boiling the beans the Arabians insured no coffee trees were grown outside Africa or Arabia. A European in possession of a coffee tree or seed was an act punishable by death; the Europeans had to buy all of their coffee from the Arabs. By 1600 an Indian pilgrim, Baba Budan, had successfully smuggled coffee seeds out of Mecca; ending the Arabians domination of the trade.
After a visit to the Turks in 1615 a Venetian merchant introduced the coffee bean to the ports of Italy. Not interested in paying for the beans, the Europeans were in a race to grow their own. The Dutch were the 1st to bring a coffee plant back to Europe, since the coffee plant cannot tolerate frost the Dutch developed a coffee-estate on the former colonial island of Java. Business boomed for the Dutch as they spread to islands surrounding Java. Overconfident, Amsterdam started giving coffee trees as gifts to aristocracy across Europe.
The Dutch gave one of these trees to Louis XIV for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Paris. A French Naval officer stationed in Martinique envisioned Martinique as a French version of Java and wished to get a few clipping from the coffee tree in Paris. After Louis XIV denied the officers request the officer planned a midnight raid of the Gardens; stealing part of the coffee tree and making way for Martinique. This clipping would yield about 18 million trees over the next 50 years and would supply many progeny to the countries of Latin America.
In 1927 Brazils ever growing interest in the booming coffee trade came to a culmination. With a perfect climate for the coffee tree Brazil was destined for success in this industry, they just didn’t have any seeds or trees. In comes Lt. Col. Francisco do Melo Palheta, who is dispatched to French Guinea to facilitate a border dispute. Not wanting to cause a ruckus and break into the fortress like coffee plantations, Francisco swindles the governor’s wife who presents the sneaky Brazilian with a bouquet of flowers spiked with coffee seedlings; thus, the beginning of the greatest coffee empire in the world.
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