Coffee

It is one of the most consumed beverages in the world,

omnipresent in our country. Without coffee, neither breakfasts nor
after-dinner meals can be understood. But besides being one of the
most consumed beverages in the world, the origin of coffee is a
story full of curiosities.

The history of coffee begins in the horn of Africa, in Ethiopia,

around the 11th century. The geographic origin is known, the
province of Kaffa, but not the exact moment, since there are no
documents on when man began to consume coffee beans.

Legend has it that a member of the Kaldi tribe, inhabitants of the

higher altitude areas of Ethiopia, observed how the goats had much
more energy after eating a type of fruit, similar to cherries. Tasting
them himself, he discovered the energizing and exciting properties
and passed them on to his tribe.

Whether this legend about the origin of coffee is true or not, there
is no doubt and it is documented that in the 15th century there
were plantations in Yemen and a large coffee trade between Sudan
and Arabia through the Yemeni port of Mocha. This city, in addition
to giving its name to a type of coffee and a coffee plantation, was
also the main port on the route to Mecca. It was there that the first
establishments serving coffee appeared, the so-called "kaveh
kanes". These establishments soon became centers of social and
political activity, and were even banned at various times.
Thus, the history of coffee and its expansion throughout the world
has the Arabs as its protagonists. For some 200 years they had the
exclusive right to cultivate and trade coffee, since they took special
care not to propagate fertile coffee beans. They removed their
outer layers and roasted them for trade. Thus, it was mission
impossible to plant a coffee tree (the coffee plant) in territories that
were not under Arab influence.