History Of Coffee
Coffee-a gorgeous, aromatic, and delicious drink. Not for all the people though. Are you a coffee person? If yes, then you must be interested in knowing where this delicious drink originated from and what if the coffee wasn’t a part of your life at this age. Tighten your seatbelts because we are going on a ride back in time when the concept of consuming coffee was born.
KHALID (KALDI) VS OROMO PEOPLE – ETHIOPIAN COFFEE BEANS
Bless those Oromo people who when entered Ethiopia in the early 15th century, first started cultivating the coffee plants and beans. But they didn’t use to consume it for its rich flavor. They used to consume coffee to fulfill themselves when droughts used to cover Ethiopia because coffee used to give them an instant energy boost and made them feel full.
It is often thought that the Oromo people were not the ones cultivated and roasted coffee beans for the first time in history rather it was a Muslim man Khalid also known as Kaldi, whose goat first found out these beans and was hyperactive all the time. And later on, Khalid tried them and felt the same energy. But when he told the elders about this, they threw the beans in the fire and that’s how the coffee beans were first-ever roasted. The elders didn’t approve of it at first, but the delicious aroma of the beans captivated them, and they allowed the use of it.
ARABICA COFFEE IN MOCHA- YEMEN
In Ethiopia, the barter of coffee plants was pretty slow but when people from Mocha which is called Yemen nowadays brought the plant from Ethiopia along with some slaves to their territory and started cultivating it, the popularity of the plants was blown out of proportion. It became a huge deal within no time and the traders of Yemen started trading the coffee beans to other the whole Arabian Peninsula. But the first region they traded with was the Holy city of Mecca.
COFFEE (Qahwah) AND THE HOLY CITY OF MECCA- SAUDI ARABIA
When the coffee came to Mecca the people loved it. And it was named for the first time as “Qahwah”, which means some sort of delicious wine and coffee they found the place to bloom. Mecca was the first city to build coffee houses where the noble and knowledgeable people used to discuss science, political, and usual affairs. And these coffee houses were called ‘School of the Wisdom’ for all the good reasons. Coffee also reached every single home in Mecca where the ladies used to serve the drink whenever some guests used to come. But when the people started gathering and discussing their ideas and their region’s politics and started speaking their minds, the king of Mecca got insecure because he was doing some major blunders. And he declared coffee as a Haraam (sinful) beverage and banned coffee and closed all the coffee houses from the late 1500s until the early 1600s when he was executed because of his immoral activities and incompetency to rule Mecca by another Sultan.
COFFEE IN CAIRO- EGYPT
Coffee then reached Cairo, where Sufis who are the Islamic mystics used to consume a lot of coffee to stay awake and keep praying at night. Even the Muslim students who used to study at nights started consuming coffee. So, coffee was a success in Egypt. Then coffee reached Syria and from there it reached the ottoman empire which is now Turkey.
COFFEE (Kahve) AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE – TURKEY
Coffee got huge fame in Turkey and also allowed to reopen all the coffee houses in Mecca and wherever in Arab it was banned and declared it Halal (pure). At that time Arabian countries were producing 90% of the coffee in the whole world. And then the Dutch came.
COFFEE’S ENTRY IN EUROPE – DUTCH MERCHANTS
The Dutch merchants and traders entered Ethiopia and the rest of Africa and from there they took not only coffee plants but hundreds of black slaves too. And they took them all to Europe and forced them to cultivate coffee there. The Dutch named it ‘koffie’. When coffee entered Europe the main beverage people used to drink was beer, so they were alcoholic all the time. But then they slowly started shifting towards coffee and it became the most popular drink in Europe. But there is no story without any controversy. So, the Christian priests labeled coffee as ‘drink from Satan’ and stopped people from consuming it mainly because it made people hyperactive and was giving them sleepless nights.
MULTIPLE CAFES IN LONDON – BRITAIN
From Europe, coffee entered great Britain and all the famous trade companies including the East India Company and many others started cultivating and trading coffee. And eventually, the first coffee café was established in London, where the men used to gather and discuss their personal affairs and sports with their friends just like the Arabs in Mecca.
Women petition against coffee
The men in Britain were enjoying themselves in the coffee cafes so much that the women felt ignored and were pumped up by the priests and the churches who were already against the drink and called it Satan’s drink filed a petition called the women petition against coffee. It is so funny. They called coffee bitter, disgusting, and God knows what more. So, coffee banning and unbanning culture were becoming famous.
Penny universities
They grow Robusta in central and western Africa and some parts of Southeast Asia. They are smaller, and rounder than compared to Arabica, and they account for only 30% of total coffee production. They have almost 50 to 60% more caffeine content in it.
They grow on altitudes slightly lower than Arabica, but they should have an annual rainfall of 60 inches. They can grow in warmer climates with a temperature range of 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and they are more disease and parasite resistant.
COFFEE IN PRUSSIA AS KAPPUCIA- NOW CAPPUCCINO
From Europe coffee also reached Prussia where it was named Kappucia after some leader. And they also introduced a new way to consume coffee. They started adding milk and sugar to it and it elevated the tasted of coffee to the next level. And now it is called cappuccino.
COFFEE A BIG FAIL IN INDIA
The Dutch also tried to cultivate coffee in India where they made Indian people slaves and were so brutal with them and forced them to cultivate coffee there. But it was a big fail because the pH of the land wasn’t suitable for the cultivation of coffee. So, all the hard work and labor of the Indians went into a ditch.
COFFEE IN JAVA – NOW INDONESIA
Then the invaders entered Java which is now called Indonesia and successfully cultivated millions of coffee trees there. It was a very successful attempt, but they made the people of Java suffer so badly.
SLAVES FROM AFRICA TO BRAZIL – BARBARISM
The actual barbaric slavery episode happened when Brazilian traders entered Africa and took thousands of black slaves with them and made them grow coffee on the lands of brazil. They tortured a lot of them to death too. But what they wanted to happen, happened. Brazil became the top cultivator of coffee and it left all the countries behind.
COFFEE IN THE USA – GEORGE WASHINGTON’S INSTANT COFFEE
Then coffee reached the USA, where George Washington started producing instant coffee in masses. And he was growing his business and selling all across America where the coffee was called Americano. After world war 1 coffee got ultimate popularity in America because all the soldiers consumed it during the war period to stay active and eventually America started importing tons of coffee from the major cultivators. Then the formation of hundreds of coffee restaurants and cafes started happening and coffee became the favorite drink of the Americans.
ITALY AND THE FIRST ESPRESSO MACHINE
Then a major shift took place in the coffee market when Italy made the first-ever Espresso machine and it brewed coffee in 30 secs before that coffee took at least 5 minutes to brew. When the boiling water with high pressure passed through coffee beans it made them super fine and delicious. The espresso machine entered the market and in no time entered every home in Italy. And then in the rest of the world.
COFFEE – THE INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY
Today drinking coffee is a daily ritual in offices and homes. Whenever people need a sudden boost of energy, they simply have a cup of coffee instead of sitting down and eating food and feel good to go. According to the stats, people consume almost 1.5 billion tons of coffee each year. And 64% of people in the world consume coffee the rest must be tea lovers. So, that is how from a magical and mystic Islamic beverage coffee became the second most traded international commodity. Now, I have an extreme urge to have a cup of coffee so let me enjoy mine and you enjoy yours.
