A Quick History Lesson on Coffee

An estimated 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each and every day worldwide. It's a daily ritual in millions of people around the world. With all of this being said, the question remans: How did all of this start?

The Discovery of Coffee

The most popular theory of how coffee was discovered is this: There was once a goat keeper who noticed one of his goats acting unusual: Running around a lot, not sleeping, and overall acting like the goat energy was overflowing. Curious, the goat keeper followed the goat around all day to figure out what the goat was eating that may have been giving it all of this energy.

Eventually, the goat keeper found the plant that the goat kept eating berries off of. Of course, he had to try some of the berries for himself. Only minutes after consuming the berries, the goat keeper found himself with more energy than he knew what to do with.

Eventually, drinks were made with these berries. That drink was, you guessed it, coffee.

To read this full story on how coffee was discovered, you can check out our blog post about it here.

The Origins of the word, Coffee

The word “coffee” has roots in several languages. In Yemen it earned the name qahwah, which was originally a romantic term for wine. It later became the Turkish kahveh, then Dutch koffie and finally coffee in English.

Where Coffee was First Roasted

The modern version of roasted coffee originated in Arabia. During the 13th century, coffee was very popular with the Muslim community for its stimulant powers, which were useful during long prayer sessions.

In 1616, the Dutch founded the first European-owned coffee estate in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, then Java in 1696. The French began growing coffee in the Caribbean, followed by the Spanish in Central America and the Portuguese in Brazil. European coffee houses sprang up in Italy and later France, where they reached a new level of popularity.

Coffee in America

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 The Civil War and other conflicts that followed also helped to increase coffee consumption, as soldiers relied on the caffeine for a boost of energy. It may have started a bit later here, but Americans love coffee just as much as the rest of the world.

By the late 1800s, coffee had become a popular drink worldwide. Many countries started to catch on to the trend, and it quickly became one of the best selling commodities around the world.

In the 1960s, a certain awareness for specialty coffee started to grow, inspiring the opening of the first Starbucks in Seattle in 1971. Today, you can find thousands of these coffee shops scattered throughout the United States.

Conclusion

From being discovered by a goat, to being one of the most popular drinks worldwide, coffee has gained it's popularity for good reason. The taste and benefits that people receive by drinking it is hard to beat with any other drink.

Thinking of getting some for yourself? The team at Sumato Coffee brews some delicious blends for you to enjoy. You can check them out here.