The energizing effect of coffee was first discovered by a goat herder who noticed his goats dancing energetically after eating coffee cherries.
Coffee’s history begins in Ethiopia around the 9th century, where legend tells of a goat herder named Kaldi who noticed his goats became energetic after eating coffee cherries. Early on, the Galla tribe consumed ground coffee cherries mixed with animal fat for an energy boost. By 1000 AD, Arab traders cultivated coffee and brewed a drink called “qahwa,” meaning “that which prevents sleep.” In 1453, the Ottoman Turks introduced coffee to Constantinople, opening the world’s first coffeehouse, Kiva Han.
Coffee spread through the Middle East and into Europe by the 17th century, becoming a social and cultural staple. The Dutch brought coffee plants to Asia in the early 1600s, leading to cultivation in Java and Ceylon, which gave coffee its nickname “Java.” By the 18th century, coffee had reached the Americas, with Gabriel de Clieu introducing it to Martinique in 1723, from where it spread throughout Latin America.
Coffeehouses became centers of social and political life in Europe and America, especially after the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when drinking coffee became a patriotic act. Today, coffee is a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars and remains a beloved daily ritual worldwide.