Early Coffee History and Coffee Expansion
The coffee history has many aspects of investigation and learning. It’s the first part of our coffee education plan. Some of the early stories are considered as myths or legends. They were created by people in order to explain in simple words the existence of this “magic” drink. There are though and many serious studies by historians and archaeologists who search for its real traces in the coffee history path.
Coffee history can be approached either as history of coffee bean discovery or as history of coffee making and drinking. As a coffee website, we couldn’t resist giving to our visitors at least a brief coffee history in order to get an idea how coffee evolution was happened. The modern coffee making and the endless varieties of coffees offered to the public have their roots to this tiny sparkle of coffee history.
THE LEGENDS OF COFFEE DISCOVERY
The coffee history begins with coffee bean discovery through the mythical findings of two well-known coffee legends worldwide.
(a) The Ethiopian version of goat shepherd Kaldi.
(b) The Arabian version of Omar the Dervish.
Both legends end up with a black, aromatic beverage which was seen as a magic drink. Its charmed properties were the stimulants that we know today. Coffee history states that during those early times, coffee was mostly used from religious rituals to medical cures. Later on it was consumed as a beverage from regular people at home. Very soon became the main hot drink of the newly opened coffee houses.
COFFEE CULTIVATION EXPANDS WORLDWIDE
Coffee history also observes the coffee expansion in all over the world. This spread went through many obstacles. Finally it reached the coffee plantation status that we experience today.
In the early stages of coffee’s appearance in the markets was severely protected. The Arabs had cultivated this new plant and didn’t want to give away any of its wealth. They traded coffee beans in a monopolistic manner, small quantities and high prices. Not too many people were able to enjoy coffee.
When fertilized beans were smuggled out of the Arabian Peninsula to India and from there to the rest of the world the coffee was established as a global drink. Production raised, prices became affordable and the masses started using it in their everyday life.