History of Coffee
It is wide believed that Coffee was first consumed in the 9th century in the highlands of Ethiopia and by the 15th century had reached Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. Coffee beans were first exported into Yemen from Ethiopia and Yemeni farmers began to cultivate the bean sometime in the mid 1400s. It then spread to Italy, Europe and eventually to the Western part of the world. The word “coffee” entered the official English language in 1598. In English and other European languages, the word coffee is derived from the Ottoman Turkish kahveh, via the Italian word caffè.
The first coffee house was Kiva Han, which opened in Istanbul in 1471. The first European city to serve coffee was Venice Italy in 1645 and became a favorite beverage for the Italian wealthy due to its exorbitant cost. The popularity of coffeehouses spread rapidly throughout Europe and by 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England alone. Initially, women were banned from English coffeehouses until 1688. The introduction of coffee to the Americas is believed to be by France through its colonization of parts of the continent. A colony in the West Indies was the first French coffee plantation founded. By the 1800s, Brazil was the largest coffee bean producer in the Western world and remained the largest until the early 20th century.
When coffee finally found its way into North America, it was not as well received as it was in Europe until the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775. It was during this time period that dealers had to start hording their supplies and raise prices dramatically. Following the War of 1812, Britain cut its export of tea to America and coffee sales grew rapidly as a result. It was during the Civil War period that coffee became a daily beverage for soldiers and other Americans as brewing technology improved.
Today, coffee is considered the most popular beverage in the world and is traded as a commodity on international stock exchanges.
The history of Coffee (Part1.)
