An Ethiopian Legend Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder
Believed to have originated in Ethiopia, coffee was used in the Middle East in the 16th century to aid concentration.
Ethiopia is widely considered to be the epicentre of where coffee came from. If you've ever googled “coffee history”, you will have come across the famous story of how coffee was founded in Ethiopia by Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder, around 800 AD.
Coffee plants reached the New World during the early 18th century, though the drink wasn't really popular in America until the Boston Tea Party of 1773, when making the switch from tea to coffee became something of a patriotic duty.
In the early 19th century, settlers began further exploring the American frontier and headed West in hopes of purchasing land or finding gold. Many of those settlers were what we call now, cowboys. And yes, they drank coffee on their way to California.
The nineteenth-century French writer Honoré de Balzac supposedly consumed fifty cups of coffee per day.
The history of coffee dates back to centuries of old oral tradition in modern day Ethiopia. However, neither where coffee was first cultivated, nor direct evidence of its consumption prior to the 15th century, have been found.
1788: The first recorded coffee in Australia arrived with the First Fleet. The fleet collected seeds and plants during a stop in Rio de Janeiro.
Historically, coffee as a hot beverage was introduced to the world by the Sufi saints in 15th-century Yemen. They drank qahwa, the Arabic term for coffee, to stay awake during the night-long meditation and recitation zikr rituals (Ralph Hattox, 1985).
The origins of coffee and alcohol consumption among humans are murky at best. While the consensus is that alcohol is the oldest drug in the world and that coffee was cultivated for consumption as early as the 15th century, a specific date of origin still hasn't been established for either beverage.
Finland — 12 kg/26 lbs — Finland is the world's biggest consumer of coffee on a per-person basis. The average Finn drinks nearly four cups a day. Coffee is so popular in Finland that two 10-minute coffee breaks are legally mandated for Finnish workers.
Finland. Finland is the number one consumer of coffee in the world. Each person drinks, on average, four cups per day and 26 pounds per year.
Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee
To a lot of people, Ethiopia would be where the best coffee in the world comes from. Because of the history of coffee production, location in the world and equality of opportunity, Ethiopia has everything many people believe makes for the best coffee in the world.
Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans.
Milk coffee is a category of coffee-based drinks made with milk. Johan Nieuhof, the Dutch ambassador to China, is credited as the first person to drink coffee with milk when he experimented with it around 1660.
Most agree that the original coffee plants were native to the western regions of Ethiopia. Coffee was recorded as a beverage as early as the 6th century, utilized by the Ottoman Empire. It was in Yemen, however, that these plants were finally cultivated and developed into the beans and beverage that we know today.
Mecca and Islam
In 1511, Khair Beg, the Governor of Mecca, banned coffee as a dangerous drug that stimulated radical thinking in the people of the city. He believed that coffee was a dangerous intoxicant equal to wine, which is prohibited by the Koran.
Mormons believe God revealed in 1833 the foods and substances that are good and bad for people to consume. Liquor, tobacco, tea and coffee were prohibited.
Islamic Attitudes Toward Coffee and Caffeine Consumption
While coffee is now halal-friendly, it was once considered 'sinful' by Kha'ir Beg, a governor of Mecca, in 1511 CE. It was once again banned in Cairo and Constantinople during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.
When Italian migrants arrived after World War II, they helped develop a coffee scene that many now regard as the best in the world.
Flat white
© Tourism Australia. The classic Aussie coffee creation, a flat white contains a single shot of espresso followed by a steamy pour of milk and a thin layer of foam.
Australian coffee is defined as espresso-style, in opposition to the drip-style filter coffee that is normally consumed in the US. Besides that, the roasts used by Australian coffee-shops are much smoother, lighter and more caramel taste compared to many US coffee which is much darker and bitter.
Coffee was introduced to Egypt in the sixteenth century and despite initial religious opposition, gained popularity relatively fast. Coffeehouses began as low-class ventures, perhaps due to their resemblance to taverns, but by the nineteenth century they had penetrated Egyptian society up to the elite classes.
Packed with antioxidants and vitamins such as riboflavin, magnesium, and potassium, coffee can help to lessen depression, promote a healthy heart, and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, liver disease, and liver cancer.
Tea was first prepared in China around 2700 BC, making it one of the world's earliest beverages. Evidence shows that tea was consumed for a good thousand years before coffee was cultivated for the very first time. After its discovery, tea was initially consumed only by Emperor Shen Nung of China and his disciples.