The Origin of Coffee – Truths & Myths

The coffee tree was discovered more than 1,000 years ago in Ethiopia. Given that the word coffee sounds similar to Kaffa, a region in Ethiopia, it is believed that the term coffee comes from there. The coffee tree produces fruits very similar to cherries, which carry inside the coffee beans.

There is the well-known legend of Khaldi, a goat herder, who noticed that his goats were showing a particularly energetic behaviour. After investigating the situation, he realized that they had been chewing on cherries from a tree nearby. After chewing some of these mysterious fruits himself, Khaldi felt equally energized.

He then decided to take these “supernatural” cherries to a nearby monastery where, out of fear, they ended up being thrown at a fire. The initial cherries became roasted beans and were subsequently boiled in water by the local monks, who became intrigued by its characteristic aroma and flavour. The monks rapidly learned that coffee had the power to keep them awake for longer, and the rest is history…

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Source: Academia do Café®