HISTORY OF COFFEE

The coffee plant Coffea arabica is native to the highlands of Southern Ethiopia. According to a legend told in the Kaffa province from which the beverage take its name, its properties were discovered by a goat-herder named Kaldi towards the end of the first millennium. One day he noticed his animals becoming hyper active after eating the red berried from the wild palnt. He ate some himself and experienced a similar effect. A passing monk scolded Kaldi for eating “but was eventually persuaded to try some himself. He realized that the berries could help him and his brothers stay awake during prayer. Members of the Galla tribe of Southern Ethiopia are also known to have eaten coffee beans wrapped in fat to sustain them during hunting trips. The habit eventually spread to Turkey, where the practice of roasting the beans ahead of use was developed, and then to Italy via Venetian merchants.