A Bit of Coffee History

 

 

 

 

 

9th Century A.D.

The Discovery

 

 Legend has it coffee was first discovered when an Ethiopian goat farmer noticed his goats had excessive energy after eating the cherries from a specific tree!

 He told the monks at a local monastery about his discovery, and they started brewing a drink with the cherries and drinking it to help stay awake during long prayers.

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15th–16th Century

Coffee Becomes a Traded Good

 By this time, the coffee seeds, or beans, were being roasted and brewed more as we would today. It was now being grown in Yemen and had become popular enough that it was being traded in the Arabian Peninsula. Coffee houses started opening and became known as “Schools of the Wise” because of the amount of information shared over cups of coffee.

 Its popularity kept growing as travelers on journeys through the Holy Lands spread the news of the “Wine of Arabia.”

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17th–18th Century

Coffee Arrives in Europe

 Coffee made it to Europe in the 1600s, and coffee houses similar to the ones in Arabia began opening in the major European cities. It was met with some controversy, as some people thought it was dangerous and sinful. In Venice, the local clergy even condemned it, but it caused such an uproar that the Pope was asked to help, and after trying his first cup of coffee, he gave it full approval.

 As coffee grew more popular in Europe, it began replacing beer as a morning drink, and people started to notice that they were more focused and productive. In fact, coffee is thought to have played a part in the revolutionary times of the 1600s–1700s.

 

 From Europe, coffee spread all over the world: the Dutch took it to Sumatra, Indonesia, and later Vietnam; a French navy officer took a seedling from the Royal Botanical Garden to Martinique (a small island southwest of the Dominican Republic); and a Portuguese military officer (who had won over the French governor’s wife) received a bouquet with a coffee seed hidden in the middle, which he took to Brazil. Coffee in Brazil has grown from that one tree into a billion-dollar industry.

 Coffee arrived in what is now New York City in the mid-1600s, and coffee houses started and grew over the next century, but it was not until the heavy tea tax and the Boston Tea Party that it became more popular than tea, and it is still Americans’ preferred hot beverage.

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1800s

 Coffee continued spreading across the world and became a very profitable export crop. It was one of the most sought-after commodities, with only crude oil surpassing it.

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1900s–2000s

 The coffee world as we know it today starts to form in what is now called “waves.”

The First Wave:

 Large roasting companies, such as Folgers, started to appear and sell their products to grocery stores, restaurants, etc. This was mostly mass-produced and pre-ground coffee with little to no traceability. It was also around this time that espresso machines were invented in Italy.

The Second Wave:

 Modern coffee shop chains, such as Starbucks, started opening, bringing “coffee drinks” to the American public.

The Third Wave:

 This is where we are. 😁 Small, local coffee shops and roasteries that carefully roast and brew their coffee so you can have a delicious cup every time! “Third Wave” coffee is known for being traceable to the region of the country, or even the farm where it is grown, and is dedicated to sustainability and good relationships with everyone—from the farmers who grow it, to you, the people who drink it.