Origins of Coffee Steeped in Mystery and Legend

The exact origins of coffee take a variety of forms. One account has it that more than 1,000 years ago a goatherd in Ethiopia's southwestern highlands (called by the natives Kaffa, which gave rise to the name coffee) plucked a few red berries from several young green trees growing in the forest and tasted them. The young herder liked the taste of the berries very much. He was impressed with the feel-good feeling that arose from them.

How did the goat herder (whose name was Kaldi) discover the red berries to begin with? Legend has it that he observed a number of goats vigorously prancing about and bleating loudly after ingesting them.

After trying the berries himself, the young Kaldi filled his pockets with the ripe cherries and brought them to the local monastery. Upon presenting the chief monk with his berries and relating his story, the monk in question proclaimed them to be "devil's work" and threw them into the fire.

Within minutes the monastery was filled with the smell of roasting coffee. The other monks gathered to investigate and the roasted berries were collected from the fire and placed in hot water to preserve their goodness. That night the monks stayed up late drinking the rich and fragrant brew and subsequently vowed that they would drink it daily to help them stay awake performing their nocturnal devotions.

We will relate other legends and accounts in a later blog.