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Copyright © 2002 Gold African Coffee, Ltd., USA. All
right reserved. Last updated: 01/30/02. |
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History of Coffee Settled
agriculture began in Ethiopia some 2000 years ago. Since time immemorial
Coffea Arabica L. has been growing in the wild forests of the South-western
highlands of Kaffa and Buno districts of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the primary
center of origin and genetic diversity of the Arabica coffee plant. Ethiopia
has more than 70 ethnic groups speaking over 200 languages. As a result,
coffee is described as Bunna (in Amharic), Bun (in Tigrigna), Buna (in
Oromiya), Bono (in Kefficho), Kaffa (in Guragigna). Some consider that these
and other names of coffee were derived from the Kaffa or Buno districts of
Ethiopia where coffee originated. The French and Spanish call it Cafe, the
Italians Caffe, the Germans Kaffee, the Finnish Kahvi, the Dutch Koffie, the
Greeks Kafes. All are phonetic approximations of the original Ethiopian,
Arabic or Turkish word. The single word coffee had passed into the languages
by the year 1700. The Legend The
most widely cited legend about the discovery of coffee is that of the
goat-herd Kalid who noticed that his goats pranced excitedly after chewing
berries from coffee bushes that he also tasted and enjoyed their stimulating
effect. A monk who found Kalid in that invigorated state also tasted the
cherries and took some and planted the seeds in the vicinity of his monastery
near Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River. He roasted and brewed the
harvested coffee cherries and tried out the beverage on his brethren. As a
result they were kept awake during their long prayers at night. Coffee was
accepted as a stimulant drink. Still today, the offspring of these trees can
be admired in an area known as Zege where thousands of these trees are being
used for crossbreed purposes by the Ethiopian Coffee Research Center. |
History of
Coffee
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goat-herd Kalid noticed that his goats pranced excitedly after chewing
berries from coffee bushes that he also tasted and enjoyed their stimulating
effect. |
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Berries on the coffee tree |
