History of coffee

So, where did the coffee craze start? We’ve heard the legends and stories. This is what we know here at Black or White.

If you are a complete coffee nut, then I think it’s important to establish when and where coffee first started. It is said that many years ago an Ethiopian shepherd noticed that his goats became a lot more energetic after eating some coffee berries and he decided that he would like to try some for himself. However, even though there is no evidence to say that this particular legend is true, it is known that coffee dates right back to the 15^th century and was derived from Ethiopia.

The first coffee trees were found in Kaffa in the Horn of Africa. The slave trade brought the coffee bean from Africa to Yemen and Arabia via the port of Mocha, which is now a word for a particular type of coffee.

Traders from Yemen started to cultivate the coffee bean and one of the first ever coffee houses was opened in Istanbul in the mid - 1500s.

By the 16^th Century, the coffee bean had been introduced into other countries in the Middle East. The coffee then found itself being planted in Italy and then across wider Europe, the Asias and the Americas.

Even though the coffee bean was introduced to America with great success, the country is not the worlds’ largest coffee producer today. That title is owned by Brazil. However, it still remains an important export for some of the worlds’ poorest nations and fair trade has done a lot to improve the conditions and the welfare of the communities that help to cultivate and harvest the coffee beans.

Now the next thing you ask is where did the word 'coffee' come from?

Well, it was first used in English the 1500s and was derived from the Dutch word ‘koffie’. Over 30,000 coffee houses were established in the UK by 1625, although they were very different to those established in America. And weirdly, women back then were barred from such coffee shops as it was known as a place for men to gather in the same way they would have done at public houses.

So bringing it right up to the present day, we now have hundreds of different types and blends of coffee and I’m sure that every one of us likes it differently. Some don't even like the taste of coffee. But however obsessed we are with the coffee rush that helps us wake up in the morning, there is still a need for the decaffeinated variety, showing that the bean can of course be appreciated for its pure taste.

Katrina Stevenson