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How Was Coffee Discovered?
Coffee is an aromatic drink made from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. It contains a stimulant called caffeine. There are different species of this plant the two main one being, Arabica, which grows mainly in South America and Robusta, which grows mainly in Africa. Each has its distinctive flavour and aroma.
The story of its discovery is very interesting. According to legend the first creature to taste the invigorating effects of coffee was a goat. Kaldi, a young Arabian shepherd noticed that one of his goats was behaving in a very lively fashion after creating the berries of a strange plant. He too tasted these red berries and felt the same effect.
Illustration of Coffea arabica plant and seeds
A Muslim priest noticed this and on learning the secret from the boy, he tried the berries. That night the priest dreamt that Prophet Muhammad told him to boil the berries and to drink the liquid. This liquid would be successful in keeping the worshippers in the mosque awake. According to the prophet, Allah had got tired of hearing their snores.
Roasted coffee beans
The next day the Muslim priest did as instructed and the brew turned out a great success. The fame of this elixir spread beyond the mosque. Soon it had become a part of every Arab household. Muhammad had forbidden the drinking of wine. The Arabic for wine is qahway. It eventually changed to coffee in English.
By the 16th century, the Arabs had discovered that the red berry contained green seeds, which could be roasted, ground and summered in water. The liquid was then filtered and drunk. Once again the Muslim priests began to be alarmed as devotees were spending more and more time in the coffeehouses and neglecting their prayers. They decreed that coffee be forbidden. The Caliph of Cairo, who was himself a passionate coffee drinker, immediately revoked the decree. Thereafter, coffee drinking again flourished and spread to the European countries by way of the traders who brought in great quantities to refresh the west.
The authenticity of this story cannot be established, but it is true that the Arabs were the first to discover the use of the coffee beans. It spread to Britain in the 17th century and the first coffee house was opened in Oxford in 1650. It soon spread to other countries refreshing millions with its aroma and flavour.
The coffee plant requires a warm climate to grow. Brazil is largest producer of coffee in the world. Columbia is the next. Coffee is also grown in countries like Nicaragua, Indonesia, Cameroon, India, Kenya and the West Indies.
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