Coffee is undoubtedly the world’s most popular drink. Café culture has continued to boom, from Italy to Australia, it seems we can’t miss our daily caffeine fix. Our everyday lives have been transformed by coffee and even the history of the world, has been formed by this extraordinary beverage. As with most foods that have been around for centuries, coffee’s beginnings are surrounded in mystery and legend.
Coffee grown worldwide traces its origin to the ancient coffee forests on the plateaus of the horn of Africa along the Red Sea coast, the modern day Somalia and Ethiopia. According to the legend, an Ethiopian goat herder first discovered coffee after he noticed that his goats became so energetic after eating the berries from a certain tree.
As word moved east, coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula, and soon coffee began its journey throughout the Ottoman Empire which would bring these beans across the globe.
The Arabian Peninsula
By the 15th century, coffee was grown in Yemen on the Southwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula. By the 16th century, coffee became popular across the Ottoman Near East; Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. It was enjoyed in public coffee houses called qahveh khaneh — coffee house — where people engaged in all kinds of social activities, chatted, listened to music, watched performers and played games. Coffee houses also became an important center for the exchange of information as they were often referred to as “Schools of the Wise.”
Coffee Comes to Europe
By the 17th century, travelers brought back stories of the unusual dark black beverage they experienced in Constantinople and the Near Eastern regions of the Ottoman Empire. As the beverage made its way to Europe, it was initially received with suspicion. The local clergy in Venice condemned coffee as the “bitter invention of Satan.” The controversy was resolved by Pope Clement VIII who found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.
Coffee became a popular beverage which gradually replaced the common "breakfast" beverages of the time — beer and wine. Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began their day alert and energized, and not surprisingly, the quality of their work was greatly improved.
Coffee houses quickly became centers of social activity and communication in the major cities of England, Austria, France, Germany and Holland. We can't talk about coffee without mentioning Germany. If you think that there is no such thing as German coffee, you are wrong. Read more here:
By the mid-17th century, there were over 300 coffee houses in London which were called “penny universities” because for the price of a penny, patrons including merchants, shippers, brokers and particularly artists open to new offers could purchase a cup of coffee and engage in stimulating conversation.
Many businesses grew out of these specialized coffee houses. Lloyd's of London, for example, came into existence at the Edward Lloyd's Coffee House.
The New World
In the mid-1600's, coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called "New York" by the British.
Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the favored drink in the New World until 1773, when the colonists revolted against a heavy tax on tea imposed by King George III. The revolt, known as the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking preference from tea to coffee.
Coffee in Ketogenic Lifestyle
Coffee blended with butter, also known as Bulletproof coffee is quite popular among keto-ers. This version of coffee is intended to fuel start your day by replacing carb-heavy breakfasts.
Please visit the link below to read more about Bulletproof coffee.
For more interesting reading about coffee, please follow this link: https://coffeevoila.com/history-of-coffee/
And the rest is history...
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