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| Illustration of Kaldi and his goats |
The coffee industry generated billions of dollars of profit. A caffeinated drink that powered billions of men and women driving the economy forward. The Baltics states and the Netherlands consumed the most coffee with their citizens drinking about 4 cups of coffee every day. According
to the International Coffee Organization, the worldwide production of coffee in
2013 amounted to over 169 million bags. The whole world's love for coffee began with some goats and an Ethiopian goat herder.
The story of this black gold traced its origins in the Horn of Africa. During the 3rd century CE (or the 8th century in some versions), in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa, goat herding provided the main source of livelihood for some. It was an easy job, as long as a shepherd successfully keeps all of his goats. Kaldi made ends meet in this way taking the job of goat herding easily allowing his goats to roam freely in the nearby forest during daylight. While his goats wander, he made time to compose poetry and music until the afternoon and as the sun began to set. He then played his handy flute from which the music reverberated into the forest and his goats returned to him.
He did this routine day after day after day, until one time when he played his melody, but his goats failed to come back. Anxiously wondering about the disappearance of his goats despairing over the potential loss of income, he decided to go into the forest and investigate this peculiarity. After some time of trekking and moving across grasses, shrubs, trees, vines, he finally saw his goats. What stumbled upon him gave him even more questions. His goats suddenly appeared hyperactive with some running and hitting other goats, while others ran about without direction. Wild energy just possessed his goats. The mystified Kaldi then closely observed his goats and found out that his herd weirdly acted after they eating some small berries from a tree with glowing leaves.
A moment similar to Adam and Eve seeing the tree of knowledge, curiosity filled Kaldi's thoughts. He wanted to test his theory, thus, he grabbed some of the small red berries of the tree and ate them. The berries tasted somewhat sweet, but after swallowing it a surge of energy possessed his body. He suddenly felt energized and his mind buzzed with liveliness. He wanted to do what his goats did - jumping, running, dancing, etc. Amazed by the sensation, he took some of the berries and went home with his goats.
Upon his arrival, he showed to his wife the berries and had her taste it. As his wife tasted the berries, she too felt the same way as he did: re-energized, tireless, and lively. A day after they discovered the berry, she shared the berries to a monk in a nearby monastery.
The monk in the monastery tried the berries felt the same way as they did. Luckily for him, he finds it easier to stay up the whole night for his religious services. Sometime later, the monk thought of ways to serve the berries better. They began to put the berries into a pot of boiling water resulting in the first cup of coffee.
Eventually, the berries and the technique of boiling spread across Ethiopia. It even became an integral part of Ethiopia as well as Eritrea's culture. The Coffee Ceremony that Ethiopian households performed about 3 times a day and equaled to the sophistication and importance of the tea ceremony to the Japanese. A means to show hospitality and to strengthen bonds among relatives, friends, and even the whole community. It involved a process beginning from roasting of the bean to the serving of coffee to the guest amidst the smell of burning incense and nibbling from a bowl of snacks, commonly popcorn. Coffee culture crossed the straits of Aden and towards the Arabian Peninsula. Travelers who came to Kaffa names the drink after the province, thus giving the name Coffee.
From the berries that frightened Kaldi, coffee spread its wings across the world. It gives livelihood to many farmers, and became an engine of growth to many economics.
See also:
The Adventure of Gabriel de Clieu
Arabs Love Affair of Coffee
The Economy of Pedro II's Empire
How a Pope Spread Coffee to the World?
Louis XIV and Coffee
Ottoman Coffee: Love and Hate
Bibliography:
The story of this black gold traced its origins in the Horn of Africa. During the 3rd century CE (or the 8th century in some versions), in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa, goat herding provided the main source of livelihood for some. It was an easy job, as long as a shepherd successfully keeps all of his goats. Kaldi made ends meet in this way taking the job of goat herding easily allowing his goats to roam freely in the nearby forest during daylight. While his goats wander, he made time to compose poetry and music until the afternoon and as the sun began to set. He then played his handy flute from which the music reverberated into the forest and his goats returned to him.
He did this routine day after day after day, until one time when he played his melody, but his goats failed to come back. Anxiously wondering about the disappearance of his goats despairing over the potential loss of income, he decided to go into the forest and investigate this peculiarity. After some time of trekking and moving across grasses, shrubs, trees, vines, he finally saw his goats. What stumbled upon him gave him even more questions. His goats suddenly appeared hyperactive with some running and hitting other goats, while others ran about without direction. Wild energy just possessed his goats. The mystified Kaldi then closely observed his goats and found out that his herd weirdly acted after they eating some small berries from a tree with glowing leaves.
A moment similar to Adam and Eve seeing the tree of knowledge, curiosity filled Kaldi's thoughts. He wanted to test his theory, thus, he grabbed some of the small red berries of the tree and ate them. The berries tasted somewhat sweet, but after swallowing it a surge of energy possessed his body. He suddenly felt energized and his mind buzzed with liveliness. He wanted to do what his goats did - jumping, running, dancing, etc. Amazed by the sensation, he took some of the berries and went home with his goats.
Upon his arrival, he showed to his wife the berries and had her taste it. As his wife tasted the berries, she too felt the same way as he did: re-energized, tireless, and lively. A day after they discovered the berry, she shared the berries to a monk in a nearby monastery.
The monk in the monastery tried the berries felt the same way as they did. Luckily for him, he finds it easier to stay up the whole night for his religious services. Sometime later, the monk thought of ways to serve the berries better. They began to put the berries into a pot of boiling water resulting in the first cup of coffee.
Eventually, the berries and the technique of boiling spread across Ethiopia. It even became an integral part of Ethiopia as well as Eritrea's culture. The Coffee Ceremony that Ethiopian households performed about 3 times a day and equaled to the sophistication and importance of the tea ceremony to the Japanese. A means to show hospitality and to strengthen bonds among relatives, friends, and even the whole community. It involved a process beginning from roasting of the bean to the serving of coffee to the guest amidst the smell of burning incense and nibbling from a bowl of snacks, commonly popcorn. Coffee culture crossed the straits of Aden and towards the Arabian Peninsula. Travelers who came to Kaffa names the drink after the province, thus giving the name Coffee.
From the berries that frightened Kaldi, coffee spread its wings across the world. It gives livelihood to many farmers, and became an engine of growth to many economics.
See also:
The Adventure of Gabriel de Clieu
Arabs Love Affair of Coffee
The Economy of Pedro II's Empire
How a Pope Spread Coffee to the World?
Louis XIV and Coffee
Ottoman Coffee: Love and Hate
Bibliography:
Antol, M. Confessions of a Coffee Bean: A Complete Guide to Coffee Cuisine. New York: Square One Publishers, 2002.
Pendergast, M. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed the World. Philadelphia: Basic Books, 2010.
"International Coffee Organization,
Pendergast, M. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed the World. Philadelphia: Basic Books, 2010.
"International Coffee Organization,
| Exporting Countries: Total Production." ICO.org. Accessed March 15, 2014. http://www.ico.org |
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