History Of Coffee In The New World
By Jerilee Wei
Frisky Goats Discover Coffee
I’m personally not a coffee drinker, but whenever I see someone with a cup of coffee I am reminded of my Grama Daisy, who loved coffee so much that she flavored a lot of other foods with coffee. I’m talking about homemade coffee flavored ice cream, coffee flavored cookies, and even coffee flavored icing on cakes.
Thinking about coffee, always leads me to thinking about goats because the curiosity of goats supposedly had a lot to do with the discovery of coffee. Gram’s version of the well-known Kaldi Coffee legend, complete with dancing goats, was a little bit different than the original story.
Here's The Story I Heard
In the third century some monks who had fled from oppression, had taken refuge in the highlands of Ethiopia, across the Red from modern Saudi Arabia. There they sustained themselves by raising goats, sheep, and crops. One night one of the monks came running into the monastery, ashen and shaky.
“The animals are bewitched!” he gasped breathlessly. “They are running around like it was a spring morning.”
“Peace my son, perhaps you fell asleep and were having a dream” his fellow monk told him. “I’ll go back and tend to the herd.”
However, the second monk found both the goats and sheep running around in the moonlight, instead of sleeping. For many nights afterwards, this odd behavior continued. Concerned the monks prayed and even performed exorcisms. Then, one of the monks saw a goat chewing on the leaves and the fruit of an unfamiliar shrub that grew wild in vast numbers.
Picking some of the ripe cherry-like fruits, he chewed the seeds, and found that he too felt unusual energy and couldn’t sleep no matter how he tried. Thus coffee was discovered.
Of course this is one of the many legends handed down about the discovery of coffee, but like other legends it is rooted in fact, this is where the shrub we now know as coffee originated. It is also a historical fact that by the fifteenth century, pilgrims to Mecca used to drink a tea of roasted coffee bean to keep them from falling asleep during the long religious services of the Muslim faith.
Mocha
By the seventeenth century, virtually all coffee was shipped from Mokha, once the capital of Yemen. Hence the name, “mocha” came into vocabularies. In the world of coffee, true “mocha” refers to the smaller, poorer looking, sharp and pungent varieties of the coffee plant.
Coffee For The World
From that part of the world, coffee was carried to Constantinople, to Venice, and then to England, France, and other European countries. Coffee houses soon started appearing with the rich and famous (and their wanna-be fan club hopeful members) being first in line as they always are. The first coffee house is believed to have been in London in 1652.
By 1675, these places were so popular that even King Charles II tried to get rid of them because he considered them “seminaries of sedition.” Meanwhile, over in Paris, these establishments were so popular that the common name, “café” is the French word for “coffee” or “coffee house.”
One Coffee Plant Became the Progenitor Of All Coffee In The New World
Today, coffee is produced in:
- Brazil
- Columbia
- Costa Rica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Indonesia
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Malawi
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Papua New Guinea
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The Legend Of The One Coffee Plant That Is Parent To All The New World Coffee Plants
The legend of how one plant supplied the whole New World with coffee plants is this:
A Dutch plantation owner in Java sent to the King of France a number of coffee plants to be planted in the then French owned West Indies colonies. After a long and harrowing voyage, the plants died with the exception of one. Fresh water on board the ship became rationed and one officer shared a portion of his with the coffee plant. From that one coffee plant it is thought to be the parent of all coffee plants in the West.
If You Would Like To Know More About Ganoderma Lucidum!
A good source of obtaining and sampling Ganoderma Lucidum can be found at:
The Lingzhi Mushroom (Ganoderma Lucidum)
Today, a cup of coffee often is more than just a variety of the Coffea plant of the Rubiaceae plant family. True coffee lovers absolutely have strong opinions about what is a good cup of coffee and willingly pay dearly to enjoy a good cup of coffee and it's not just coffee in that cup.
Sometimes it's a good marriage between two plants such as Coffea and a certain two thousand year old Chinese medicinal mushroom brings a cup of coffee into a whole new realm of enjoyment when you realize that the coffee you love, can also love you back. The lingzhi mushroom or reishi mushroom (Ganoderma Lucidum and Ganoderma Tsugae varieties), are ancient Chinese remedies for prevention of tumors, cancer, improve memory and thought processes, known to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as blood sugar.
It is perhaps the most important of all Chinese medicinal treatments and is not known to have side-effects. By itself, however, it is bitter tasting. Married to coffee, however, it is said to be very pleasant tasting.
If You'd Like To Know More About The Coffea Plant!
- Coffee History - CoffeeResearch.org
Coffee history information, legends, and information about coffee bean origin. - Ethiopian Coffee
- How Coffee is Grown & Harvested
- The History Of Coffee - National Coffee Association
National Coffee Association
Comments
Very informative hub about coffee. I wondered about the mushroom picture until I read what was under it. My husband and I start out each day with some coffee and always put the grounds in the compost pile. Enjoyed reading this.
Nice article Jerilee. I am a coffee lover and MUST HAVE at least one cup every morning. But I never thought about coffee like this before.
I am a coffee lover but never know how it was started. Great hub, voted up!
.....ironic to say the least that I am viewing this most essential hub with my first cup of coffee of the day (I am trying to cut back because of my high blood pressure) for I am a night shift worker and it kickstarts the day for me with habits we often have in life - lol - go to the bathroom, feed the cats, start the coffee and go online to the Hub to see my new favorite hub personality, writer and superstar Jerilee Wei - and thank you so much for your royal endorsement of my humble little hubspace - coming from such a great communicator like yourself really means a lot to me.
lake erie time ontario canada 12:44pm
Great Article! You are a positive inspiration!
Philippines is one of the producers of coffee in fact we have the original coffee plantation here and the first to make coffee eaten by an animal who loves coffee.
What a cool Story! I love my coffee!!voted way up!
I am a coffee fanatic and find this fascinating- especially the story about goats running wild. Thanks for the image!
Well done. Very informative one.
Thanks! franciaonline; manthy; sharmanlow, Docmo, htodd, and notwiredthatway! There are other back stories for coffee lovers but this one was my favorite.
As always, I learn something new every time I visit your hub. I didn't know about the legend of coffee. Now I know! Thanks for this hub, Jerilee Wei.
Not a fan of coffee but this is an awesome hub.
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Manthy
great to have read this, im a coffee fanatic!
Great story about the hyperactive goats and the lone coffee plant- very interesting.
Great post,Thanks
Thank you Jerilee. I did know any of this about coffee. Proof you can learn about things in the darnedest places. Definitely a vote up.
Thanks howtocurecancer!
Thanks phildazz! No I didn't know that. Good to know.
Thanks Randy Godwin! I tend to agree with your research too. Only because I was once addicted to caffine and think in moderation it really does provide some mental alertness that spurs action?
Very good piece, Jerilee! I wrote a similar history on the coffee plant several years ago for another publisher.
One of the most fascinating theories I found during my research was concerning early man's sudden increase in brain size about 500,000 years ago when they began eating the ripe beans of the coffee plant.
Instead of spending much of their time sleeping in the trees, the caffeine made them spend more waking hours alert and therefore more aware of their surroundings. Instead of scavaging they spent more time learning to hunt their own meat. More energy to supply the brain growth resulted.
I don't place too much stock in the theory, but it does make one think about the possibilities!
Enjoyed your article!
Jerilee, that is very refreshing and informative but did you know? North Americans pay over 10 billion per year in cups of coffee and, that stats was taken a few years ago. It's nice knowing how it all got started.
I love the taste of a fresh hot coffee1 I drink alot and I can get up in the morning without a black coffee.
Thanks katiem2!
Thanks Hello, hello! At lease you know it.
I am definitely a coffee addict and therefore like the story twice as much.
I love coffee and history so your history of coffee in the new world was a delight to read. :) Katie
Thanks Earth Angel!
Thanks Peter Owen!
Thanks Icbenefield!
Thanks lilyfly!
Thanks ACWitschorik!
Thanks Acbarfs!
Thanks Birina3sh!
Thanks Bethany Culpepper!
Thanks RalphGreene!
Oh wow very nice story, I love coffee too. Great hub.
Oh how I do love coffee. I've been known to drive for miles for just the right cup of coffee. But, I recently had to give it up. So sad. Interesting hub!
Thanks Jerilee Wei, nice nice nice article. I believe I only had about 2 types of of coffee, one is Columbia. I drink coffee atleast once a month. But in summer I really enjoy the Dryer's Coffee Ice Cream, delicious. (voted up)
I'm a big fan of coffee and just like your Grama Daisy also very fond of coffee flavoured foods. I'm the one who will eat that last cappachino flavoured chocolate nobody else would touch! Interesting and enjoyable reading. Thanks :-)
Really enjoyed your hub! I'm heading out for a cup of coffee right now
fascinating hub!!! My Mom used to drink pots of it, and her dog, Pekka, used to drink it out of a dish! Love it, lily
What a great hub! Very interesting. I had my first taste of coffee out of mom's mug at age 5. My family is full of serious coffee drinkers.
I am a coffee addict. Hasn't seemed to hurt but still don't know any long term effects
Fun story Jerilee! Thank you for sharing it!
I love a good cup of decaf! (Which still has up to 3% caffeine!) I add it to my oatmeal with a little stevia! I use it instead of water in chocolate chip cookies! A cup of strong coffe is delicious in vegetarian chili! And the left over coffee grounds are good for the garden!
Thanks again for sharing; warms my heart and my coffee!
Blessings always, Earth Angel!
Thanks dahoglund!
Thanks Christopher Price!
Thank alexhouse!
Thanks Paradise7!
Thanks KoffeeKlatch Gals!
Thanks Ginn Navarre! Well,that gene skipped me, can't stand th taste of coffee but do love the smell of it. Love you.
Oh yes, I think Gram Daisy passed that gene on to me and your sister, for don't get in our way first thing in the morning until we have that first cup of strong coffee. love ya
Interesting story. I love coffee. Thanks goodness that one plant survived.
This was a great article!!! I really enjoyed it. But then, I LOVE coffee, don't know what I'd do without it.
Really interesting, Jerilee. Thanks.
Thanks Jerilee, for this very interesting hub. I recently published a poem to coffee, but I never knew the history of the delicious addicting beverage 'til now.
Unlike the dancing goats, I can drink a couple of cups and take a nap. For me it is the rich aroma and unique flavor that keeps me coming back for more.
It was most enjoyable to read and learn about the liquid that fills the cup next to me on the desk.
CP
Interesting story of coffee. Being Scandinavian and growing up in Minnesota coffee was a normal beverage. Coffee Ice cream is pretty good. i don't know about some to the other things. voted up.
Jerilee Wei 6 months ago
Thanks everyone! Due to computer problems I was behind in comments.
Thanks Peggy W! Glad you enjoyed it.