Coffee history

Coffee has a long history. The history of coffee begins somewhere between 575 and 850. It is believed that Ethiopian and Kenyan tribes took coffee seeds on their journey to Arabia. Other coffee history connoisseurs believe that the Arab Sufis, a mystical Islamic sect, brought the coffee seeds back of their incursions from Ethiopia. Literature confirms that the Sufi master Ali ben Omar al Shadili was responsible for it. The Arab Al Shadili established a monastery in the Yemeni port of Mocha (Al Mokha), after which he became familiar with coffee and later brought it back to Arabia. Soon they discovered that coffee is not only a good cure against fatigue and sleepiness, but it also tasted delicious.

Like the creation of coffee, there has been much discussion about the first application of coffee. We know from writings of European explorers and botanists that the Ethiopians at that time chew on raw coffee beans. Also during those times the coffee beans were already ground, but instead of mixing the ground with water it was mixed with animal fat. They then made small balls of it, which served as energy source during yourneys. It is also a known fact that people used to make wine from the juice of coffee berries. The wine was called quahwah, which later also became the name of the coffee as we know it nowadays.

Coffee was initially used only as part of a religious ceremony or as a medicine. It was prescribed for the weirdest ailments, like gout and kidney stones.

The history of coffee yet did not came to an end. After the coffee became a common drink in Arabia, coffee has spread to countries like Egypt, Syria, Persia and Turkey. It lasted until the end of the 16th century till coffee became known in Europe. The Venetians were the first to trade in coffee with the Arabs. Soon after that the Dutch became interested in the coffee trade. A Dutch merchant managed to steal a coffee plant from Mecca, and took it to the East Indian colony of Java to start experimenting with it. Soon coffee plantations were established on Sumatra, Timor, Bali and Sulawesi. The real breakthrough of coffee in Europe started in 1715 after the mayor of Amsterdam gave a coffee plant as a gift to Louis XIV. Hence, France at that period, became the largest coffee producer and consumer.

Years later coffee became widespread in many regions in the world. The collonists and missionaries were the main distributors of coffee. During those times many coffee houses established, where the elite enjoyed the delicious drink. Gradually coffee became more and more important. Today, coffee is the second most traded product on the world market, after petroleum.

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