Coffee, quite possibly the world’s most consumed beverage, offers up a mysterious and disputed account to its discovery. While today coffee beans are cultivated all across the globe. Just a few hundred years ago, it was virtually unknown. The history of coffee and its discovery are told through the unexpected adventures of dancing goats, Sufi mystics, and a healer from Mocha. Most experts agree that the coffee plant is indigenous to ancient Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia), but tales of its introduction to the world stage vary by region.
An exiled healer from Mocha achieves sainthood with his discovery of a new drink.
This story takes place in the seventh century near the Port of Mocha, once the most famous market in the world for coffee. A dervish Hadji disciple named Omar, known for his healing abilities, is called upon to cure a beautiful princess. Entranced by her beauty, Omar attempts to steal her away, incurring the wrath of her father, the King, who has him expelled from the kingdom.
Near starvation in exile, Omar discovers a new soup made from steeping red berries he found on a bush in hot water. This drink turns out to be revitalizing and quickly becomes popular in the Arab World. Omar is welcomed back to Mocha as a Wali Allah (Saint for God) who had discovered this miraculous medicine.
This, of course, is only one of many versions of the legend.
Did dancing goats lead us to the first cup of coffee?
The goat runs on and never tires
A story from the ninth-century plants the origins of coffee in Ethiopia, where, as legend has it, a goat-herder named Kaldi noticed his goats become energized and excited after eating berries from an unknown bush.
He immediately brought them to the monastery abbot, who took the berries and roasted them. Some say on purpose, others that he threw them on the fire in disapproval. In either case, the resulting aroma was more than enough to entice the monks to try this unusual food. Soon news of this wakeful monastery spread to nearby villages where the revitalizing drink would quickly follow.
“O Coffee! Thou dost dispel all care, thou are the object of desire to the scholar. This is the beverage of the friends of God.”
-In Praise of Coffee, Arabic poem from 1511
A fortunate traveling Arab
Street Coffee Vendor Illustration
A separate history of coffee story involves an Arab’s travels near Abyssinia in the middle of the fifth-century.
One night he cut down branches of a nearby bush covered in dried berries to place on his fire. Almost instantly he noticed a pleasant aroma coming from the fire. Gathering up the berries he then crushed them only to release even more of their tantalizing essence. While enchanted by the scent, some fell into his stale water, and as if by a miracle, the water was purified! Drinking it, he was rejuvenated with the energy needed to continue his journey.
What date can we most accurately pin on the first use of coffee?
1454, when the mufti of Aden (Sheikh Jamal-al-Din al-Dhabhani) recorded calling for the drink he had encountered during his travels to Abyssinia after falling ill. He not only fully recovered but being so amazed by the virtues of the drink, sanctioned if for the dervishes “that they might spend the night in prayers or other religious exercises with more attention and presence of mind.” While an accurate and valid record of the discovery of coffee might never be known, the legends of its first brewing are wonderfully fitting of this much-beloved drink.
Whatever the case may be, coffee’s popularity has only grown since then, with its beans being cultivated around the world. As science continues to uncover more about this beloved beverage, the stories of its origins are sure to remain a part of its legacy.
What’s your history of coffee?
Everyone’s journey to discovering coffee is unique. Perhaps it was the aroma of freshly brewed coffee that stirred fond memories of home for some. Others might have been introduced to the bitter-sweet taste of coffee during late night study sessions with friends in college. Regardless, coffee has become a beloved staple in many people’s lives, providing warmth and comfort in the morning, or a pick-me-up in the afternoon. With the plethora of roasts, flavors, and brewing methods, there are endless opportunities to explore the world of coffee.
