Ever wondered how the spirited beverage coffee was discovered? How and where did it happen first? Curdle up on one side on cosy bed, or lay back in a wooden rocker under dim pacifying shade lights... Under the smear of shadows and faint aura of moonlight, read this beautiful mystery. Read on to know how and were the world's coffee originated....
The birthplace of coffee is Ethiopia, a sub-Saharan Africa country. It is bordered by Sudan on the west and Kenya in the South. The country has several high mountain ranges (highlands). These mountains are fertile regions for growing various crops. It is mainly an agricultural economy. The Abbai (also called Blue Nile) is the chief reservoir for drinking water in Ethiopia.
The Southern Ethiopia region which includes Sidamo, Kaffa, Arsi and Harar is the original home of coffee. The coffee that grows here is called Coffea arabica and is the mother to all species of coffee grown around the world. Here coffee grows as wild undershrubs on the highland rain forests.
Deep in the South Central Highlands of Ethiopia there is a place called Kaffa (Kefa). Kaffa lies near the Sudan border and has Islamic influence. In fact, the word Kefa is derived from the Arabic word qahwah meaning 'the drink from berries’.
The people of Kaffa were primarily engaged in agriculture. Besides this, goat rearing was one of the ancillary activities of people of Kaffa. So one when a young goatherd named Kaldi (Khaled/ Khalid) took his herd for gazing on the highland, coffee knocked its way out as a stimulating beverage for the world...! Read the story behind this amazing discovery...
Once there lived a young goatherd named Kaldi in the far land of Ethiopia.
Kaldi took his herd of goats for gazing on the low grasslands. One year, it became extremely dry. The grasslands dried up as the rains were delayed. So Kaldi took his herd up in the highland forests.
The highland forests were dense with rich types of undershrubs. The goats randomly nibbled on the leaves around. One of the shrub bore beautiful bright berries, in hues of red, brown and crimson. To his surprise, when the goats ate those berries they became more energetic. They jumped, hopped, ran around crazily and danced on their hind toes. They bumped into each other and into the bushes around.
Kalki was surprised. He related the elated behaviour of the goats to the unknown berries. He was, in fact right. He grew suspicious and ate the berries himself. He found that it was not a regular breed of plant- it rather had a stimulating effect and produced exhilarating effect. He collected the berries and stuffed his pockets with them.
Back home, he showed his wife the berries and narrated the strange behaviour of goats after eating them. His wife considered it as a God send message for humans. She asked Kaldi to take the berries to an Islamic (Sufi) monk who served in a nearby monastary.
There region saw dramatic drift in day and night temperatures. It was evening when Khaldi left.
It was cold night. Kalki went to the monk, who sat curdled up before a bonfire. Kalki sat besides him and told him about the berries. The monk was mused to hear about the goat dance and laughed out. When Kalki took the berries out from his pocket and gave them to the monk, the monk said, "These are wild berries. How can we humans use them? What good they can do? It's nothing but devil's work'. Saying this, the monk threw the berries into the bonfire.
It was not long before, an unusual aroma filled the space around. It was elating, pacifying, instilling and exhilarating.
As the billowing aroma sensed to be pacifying, enchanting, enticing, the monk grew curious. Suddenly he gained interest in the berries he threw away a while back in the fire. He raked the roasted beans from the ember and cooled them.
When the beans cooled down, he took a motor and grinder and grounded the roasted beans to the fine powder. He added the powder into the steaming water and filtered it. It was the world's first brewed coffee preparation.
The story is believed to be apocryphal. It was officially first related by Antoine Faustus Nairon, a Maronite who became a Roman professor of Oriental languages. He was the author of one of the first printed treatises devoted to coffee - De Saluberrima potione Cahue seu Cafe nuncupata Discurscus
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