Coffee is widely consumed as a morning beverage to start the day and as an evening beverage to wind down.
The long trip that coffee took from its origin in Ethiopia to your breakfast table is fascinating. Read on as we trace the origins of this wonderful drink to the present day.
· 850 CE: An Ethiopian herder discovers coffee after noticing an odd behavior in his goats after they ate red berries from a coffee shrub. According to folklore, the herdsman gave the beans to some nearby monks who promptly burned them since they believed the beans came from the devil. This produced the refreshing scent of freshly roasted coffee, encouraging them to devise a method of consuming it. Somewhere along the line, someone realized that if you chopped it up and threw it in a cup with some water, you'd get a refreshing and revitalizing drink.
· 900: In his medical encyclopedia, the famed Arabian physician, Rhazes, mentioned coffee for the first time, though he called it "bunchum" rather than "coffee."
· 1000: philosopher Avicenna Bukhara wrote the earliest known literary description of coffee.
· 1454: Kaveh Kanes, the first coffee cafes, are opened and serve as places for religious gatherings.
· 1511: Mecca was a hub for political discourse among its residents, who frequently congregated at coffeehouses. As a result of the governor's concern about the potential for abuse of power during these events, coffee was banned, and coffee shops closed.
· 1570: The arrival of coffee in Venice acted as a catalyst for the beverage's global spread.
· 1773: Most American citizens prefer coffee over tea right after the famous Boston Tea Party. During this American revolution, drinking tea seemed unpatriotic.
· The 1800s: Coffee companies like Folgers and Maxwell House get established, leading to a worldwide increase in consumption.
· 1884: The original espresso machine gets patented to Angelo Moriondo.
· 1903: Colombians finally find peace after the Thousand Days War, and the country's economy thrives due to the growing coffee industry. Large haciendas (coffee plantations) can be found in the Tolima and Cundinamarca regions, while peasants also cultivate coffee in the western highland regions of Caldas and Antioquia.
· 1905: Colombia exports 500,000 bags of coffee which doubled in 1915.
· 1908: Melitta Bentz receives a patent for the coffee filter.
· 1971: 'Second wave" of coffee is initiated by Starbucks after opening its first store in Seattle, which seeks to improve coffee quality.
· 1982: the Specialty Coffee Association gets established to encourage and promote creative activity in the premium coffee industry.
· 2009-Present: Coffee is the by far one of the most consumed beverages in the entire universe. In the US, 400 million cups of coffee are consumed daily. There are numerous coffee shops that an individual can visit for various coffee drinks. As a commodity, coffee is only second to oil in terms of volume of commerce.
Final Thoughts
As you can see above, coffee is a global beverage with a rich history. For genuine rich flavoured coffee, visit our store today and choose from our wide selection of coffee products and brands.