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The history of coffeeA cup of morning coffee is part of many people’s daily routine. However, drinking coffee is so deeply ingrained in our society that most people never stop to think about how special their beverage is. The Legend of the first cupIf one believes the legend, the very start of coffee as a beverage can be traced back all the way to the Ethiopian coffee forests of the 9th century. A goatherd named Kaldi is said to have noticed that when his herd ate the beans from the coffee tree, the animals were more lively and would not sleep. Coffee's humble beginningsThe cultivation of coffee as we know it originated on the Arabian peninsula in the 15th century, and by the 16th century its popularity had spread as far afield as Egypt, Syria, Persia and Turkey. People consumed the wildly popular drink in their homes, but this also awoke a social revolution – coffee was being shared in public spaces that would later become known as coffee houses, or qahveh kaneh. Coffee goes westEuropean merchants and other travellers soon encountered this incredible concoction. Some regarded the bitter beverage, the so-called “wine of Araby”, with no small amount of suspicion and even fear. Coffee initially made its way to Venice in 1615, where it was swiftly condemned by the clergy. With its popularity cemented in the Near and Far East, coffee consumption was on the rise. The welcoming warmth of coffee houses began to gain traction in other parts of Europe, such as Holland, England, France and Germany. A new world of coffeeWhile England is mainly known as being the land of refined tea drinking, coffee has been popular on its green shores since the 17th century. It soon began to replace the most popular breakfast beverages of the era – which were not types of tea, but instead beer and wine. Quite clearly, this led to coffee consumers being more productive, brighter and full of energy (something that carries on into the modern time), rather than suffering from the usual depressant effects of alcohol. In no time, coffee was taken across the pond as the British made their home in the New World – America. Surprisingly, tea reigned supreme in the United States until the Boston Tea Party. This event, as well as beginning America’s path to independence from British rule, also altered the hot beverage trends of the country forever. Coffee as a cultureAs the love of coffee spread like wildfire, so too did its links with intellectualism. It is perhaps no surprise that modern-day coffee houses are the preferred spots for writers to compose their great works. Samuel Pepys learned the gossip of the day in the coffee houses of London and wrote it in his famed diary for history to remember. Around this time, coffee houses were also known as “penny universities” as you could pay a penny for a cup of coffee and sit among many learned people – centres of debate, culture, financial conversations and more. Your daily cupThe growth of coffee houses, and the sale of coffee, in the modern day has been exponentially helped by the introduction of chains such as Starbucks, which was founded in 1971. These opened up the world of speciality coffee to those who were perhaps only familiar with a cup of instant and would not have looked for a coffee house otherwise. This, as well as a growing desire for the taste of premium roasted coffee and independent coffee shops with unique charms of their own, has led to coffee becoming a global industry worth billions. |