The legend
According to one of many legends, it was not men but goats who first discovered coffee. It happened in Ethiopia sometime around the year 850. One evening, the monks in an Ethiopian monastery noticed that their goats were still rather lively. They discovered that the animals had been eating unknown berries. Filled with curiosity, they themselves tasted the dark red cherries. They were so disappointed with the bitter taste, however, that they immediately threw the cherries into the fire.
And lo and behold: very soon a wonderful aroma wafted towards them. The monks doused the fire and brewed a black liquid from the now roasted beans. This then helped them to stay awake during night prayers. So if you ever call anyone a stupid old goat, remember that it wasn’t stupid at all of these animals to discover coffee for all of us.
Triumphal march
The triumphal march of coffee to Europe
During the 16th century, coffee reached Cairo and Constantinople (now Istanbul) via Arabia and Mecca, and the first coffee bars were set up there in 1554. Bags of coffee were not brought to Europe until 1615.
In 1683, the Turks had to abandon their siege of Vienna, and left 500 bags of coffee behind. The Turks? loss was the Austrian?s gain. It was at this time that a coffee-mad Pole laid the foundations of the world-famous Viennese coffee house culture.
From this time on, coffee marched triumphantly through the whole of Europe, gaining more and more devotees, until it has now become part of everyday life.
Coffee and coffee trees travel deeper into the tropics
As early as 1699, the Dutch – then one of the most influential nations of sea-farers – started to grow coffee in their colony on the island of Java in Indonesia. Plantations followed in Sri Lanka and in India. The Dutch even brought the coffee tree to Surinam (Dutch Guyana). From there it spread into all areas with tropical and sub-tropical climates, which now supply a large part of the world production.