The History of Coffee, from it’s African start to it’s move into Arabia and Europe is a colourful one.
The History of Coffee commences from around 1000AD after Arab traders brought berries back from Ethiopia. The beans were roasted and brewed to make a drink called “qahwa” (translated to ‘that which prevents sleep’). The berries themselves were noticed after goats were observed to have increased energy after eating them. There is debate as to whether an Ethiopian goat herder or Yemeni mystic was the first to witness the goats eating the berries, but the result is the same.
The History of Coffee as we know it started here.
As the Arab’s moved into Northern Africa and the Mediterranean, coffee went with them.
Coffee was a highly profitable market for Arab traders who maintained a monopoly in the business. It was not until around 1600AD when an Arab pilgrim named Baba Budan smuggled fertile seeds out of Mecca.
Around 1600AD, coffee was introduced to Venice, Italy. Europe caught the buzz with production of coffee becoming the prize. The Dutch managed to be the first European to establish the first European-owned coffee estates in Ceylon and Java. With the Dutch now established as Europe’s coffee producers they began to give coffee trees as gifts to European nobility.
A French naval officer named de Clieu based in Martinique (in the French Caribbean), stole a seedling from a tree given to the French King. After an arduous trip back to the Caribbean where de Clieu even gave half of his rationed water to the coffee tree sapling, the tree was planted into a classic coffee micro-climate. From this seedling, some 19 million trees sprouted. It is estimated the 90% of the world’s coffee came from this little seedling.
Which brings us to Brazil. In 1727, Brazil Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta is sent to arbitrate a border dispute between the French and Dutch colonies in Guiana. The Brazil Colonel had a secret liaison with the French Governor wife who gave the Colonel a bouquet as a parting gift. The bouquet had hidden coffee tree cuttings and fertile seeds. In 1907, Brazil supplied around 95% of the world’s coffee. Brazil now supplies approximately a quarter of the world’s coffee.
In 1773, drinking coffee in the US became a patriotic thing to do after the Boston Tea Party.
Coffee makes its way to Hawaii in 1825.
By 1887, coffee was in Tonkin, Indo-China.
In 1896, coffee was beginning to be cultivated in Queensland, Australia.
In 1938, Nestle invents freeze-dried coffee and starts to sell Nescafe in Switzerland.
New Guinea began cultivating coffee in the 1950’s.
In 1971, Starbucks opens its first store in Seattle.
The History of Coffee will continue to written by people like you and me who love its simplicity, its complex flavors and aromas. We develop our own ritualistic preparation techniques that make our own idea of the perfect cup.
This is how we are creating our own History of Coffee.
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