In
the Ethiopian highlands, where the legend of Kaldi, the goatherd,
originated, coffee trees grow today as they have for centuries. Though
we will never know with certainty, there probably is some truth to the
Kaldi legend.
It is said that he discovered coffee after noticing that his goats,
upon eating berries from a certain tree, became so spirited that they
did not want to sleep at night.
Kaldi dutifully reported his findings to the abbot of the local
monastery who made a drink with the berries and discovered that it kept
him alert for the long hours of evening prayer. Soon the abbot had
shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and ever so
slowly knowledge of the energizing effects of the berries began to
spread. As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it
began a journey which would spread its reputation across the globe.
Today coffee is grown in a multitude of countries around the world.
Whether it is Asia or Africa, Central or South America, the islands of
the Caribbean or Pacific, all can trace their heritage to the trees in
the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau.
The Arabian Peninsula
The Arabs were the first, not only to cultivate coffee but also to
begin its trade. By the fifteenth century, coffee was being grown in
the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the sixteenth century it was known
in Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
It's popularity was perhaps due, in part, to the fact that Muslims,
forbidden alcoholic drink by the Koran, found coffee's energizing
properties to be an acceptable substitute.
Coffee
was not only drunk in homes but also in the many public coffee houses
-- called qahveh khaneh -- which began to appear in cities across the
Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people
frequented them for all kinds of social activity. Not only did they
drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to
music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news of
the day. In fact, they quickly became such an important center for the
exchange of information that the coffee houses were often referred to as
'Schools of the Wise.'
With thousands of pilgrims visiting the holy city of Mecca each year
from all over the world, word of the 'wine of Araby' as the drink was
often called, was beginning to spread far beyond Arabia. In an effort to
maintain its complete monopoly in the early coffee trade, the Arabians
continued to closely guard their coffee production.
Coffee Comes to Europe
European travellers to the Near East brought back stories of the
unusual dark black beverage. By the 17th century, coffee had made its
way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent. Opponents
were overly cautious, calling the beverage the 'bitter invention of
Satan.' With the coming of coffee to Venice in 1615, the local clergy
condemned it. The controversy was so great that Pope Clement VIII was
asked to intervene. Before making a decision however, he decided to
taste the beverage for himself. He found the drink so satisfying that he
gave it Papal approval.
Despite
such controversy, in the major cities of England, Austria, France,
Germany and Holland, coffee houses were quickly becoming centers of
social activity and communication. In England 'penny universities'
sprang up, so called because for the price of a penny one could purchase
a cup of coffee and engage in stimulating conversation. By the
mid-17th century, there were over 300 coffee houses in London, many of
which attracted patrons with common interests, such as merchants,
shippers, brokers and artists.
Many businesses grew out of these specialized coffee houses. Lloyd's of
London, for example, came into existence at the Edward Lloyd's Coffee
House.
The New World
In the mid-1600's, coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, a location later called New York by the British.
Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the
favored drink in the New World until 1773 when the colonists revolted
against a heavy tax on tea imposed by King George. The revolt, known as
the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking
preference to coffee.
Plantations Around the World
As
demand for the beverage continued to spread, there was tense
competition to cultivate coffee outside of Arabia. Though the Arabs
tried hard to maintain their monopoly, the Dutch finally succeeded, in
the latter half of the 17th century, to obtain some seedlings. Their
first attempts to plant them in India failed but they were successful
with their efforts in Batavia, on the island of Java in what is now
Indonesia. The plants thrived and soon the Dutch had a productive and
growing trade in coffee. They soon expanded the cultivation of coffee
trees to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes.
The Dutch did a curious thing, however. In 1714, the Mayor of
Amsterdam presented a gift of a young coffee plant to King Louis XIV of
France. The King ordered it to be planted in the Royal Botanical Garden
in Paris. In 1723, a young naval officer, Gabriel de Clieu obtained a
seedling from the King's plant. Despite an arduous voyage -- complete
with horrendous weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the seedling
and a pirate attack -- he managed to transport it safely to Martinique.
Once planted, the seedling thrived and is credited with the spread of
over 18 million coffee trees on the island of Martinique in the next 50
years. It was also the stock from which coffee trees throughout the
Caribbean, South and Central America originated.
Coffee is said to have come to Brazil in the hands of Francisco de
Mello Palheta who was sent by the emperor to French Guiana for the
purpose of obtaining coffee seedlings. But the French were not willing
to share and Palheta was unsuccessful. However, he was said to have been
so handsomely engaging that the French Governor's wife was captivated.
As a going-away gift, she presented him with a large bouquet of
flowers. Buried inside he found enough coffee seeds to begin what is
today a billion-dollar industry.
In only 100 years, coffee had established itself as a commodity crop
throughout the world. Missionaries and travellers, traders and
colonists continued to carry coffee seeds to new lands and coffee trees
were planted worldwide. Plantations were established in magnificent
tropical forests and on rugged mountain highlands. Some crops
flourished, while others were short-lived. New nation's were
established on coffee economies. Fortunes were made and lost. And by
the end of the 18th century, coffee had become one of the world's most
profitable export crops.
From:
http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=68
