Coffee Early History

The history of coffee is varied and interesting. According to one story, the effect of coffee beans was first noticed by a sheep herder, Kaldi from Kaffa in what is now Ethiopia. He saw that his sheep became hyperactive after eating the red "cherries" from a certain plant when he moved them. He tried a few, and became as hyperactive as his sheep. Soon, local monks discovered that this fruit from this plant could help them stay awake for their prayers.

The coffee plant grew naturally in Ethiopia, but was taken to Arabia where it was monopolized. The Galla tribe from Ethiopia didn't drink coffee, but would wrap beans in animal fat, and use them for nutrition while on raiding parties.

The Turks were first to adopt coffee as a drink, adding clove, cinnamon, cardamom and anise to the coffee as it brewed. As time moved on, coffee was introduced to countries beyond Arabia, where it was regarded as a delicacy, and regarded it as secret as they would top secret military plans.

Export of the coffee plant out of Muslim nations was forbidden, so the actual spread of coffee started illegally. An Arab called Baba Budan is said to have taken beans to mountains near Mysore, India, where he started farming them. At one time, coffee was believed to be the devil's drink by Christians. Pope Vincent III was petitioned to ban it, but as he was already a coffee drinker he blessed it instead!

Coffee is grown worldwide today, and is used in almost all cultures,

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