COFFEE BEAN ORIGIN
From Ethiopia to a Global Coffee Culture
Trace the story of coffee from the Ethiopian plateau through Arabia, Europe, the New World and the rise of coffee cultivation across the Americas and Asia.
The Ethiopian Origins of Coffee
According to a popular legend, the story of coffee begins on the Ethiopian plateau with a goat herder named Kaldi. After noticing that his goats became unusually energetic after eating berries from a particular plant, Kaldi shared what he had observed with the abbot of a local monastery.
The abbot made a drink from the berries and found that it helped him remain alert during long hours of prayer. Knowledge of the energising drink gradually spread among the monks and beyond.
From Ethiopia, coffee began a journey eastward toward the Arabian Peninsula, where cultivation and coffee culture would develop further.
The Arabian Peninsula
By the 15th century, coffee was being cultivated in the Yemeni district of Arabia. By the 16th century, it had reached Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
Coffee became a popular drink in public coffee houses known as qahveh khaneh. These places were used not only for drinking coffee, but also for conversation, socialising and exchanging information.
The coffee houses eventually became known as “Schools of the Wise” because of their role as gathering places for discussion and knowledge. With thousands of pilgrims travelling to Mecca each year, awareness of coffee spread further across the region and beyond.
Coffee Comes to Europe
In the early 17th century, travellers returning from the Near East brought stories of a dark, aromatic beverage with an energising effect. Coffee initially attracted suspicion in parts of Europe, but its popularity continued to grow.
When coffee reached Venice in 1615, some members of the local clergy criticised it. According to the traditional story, Pope Clement VIII tasted the beverage himself and approved of it, helping coffee gain wider acceptance.
Coffee houses later appeared in major European cities across England, Austria, France, Germany and Holland. In England, some became known as “penny universities” because the price of a cup gave customers access to lively conversation and information exchange.
Coffee Reaches the New World
By the mid-1600s, coffee had reached New Amsterdam, the settlement that later became New York after the British takeover.
Tea remained more popular among many colonists until 1773, when opposition to British taxation culminated in the Boston Tea Party. In the years that followed, coffee gained greater cultural importance in the American colonies and eventually became firmly established as a popular everyday beverage.
Coffee Plantations Spread Around the World
As demand for coffee increased, European powers looked for ways to cultivate coffee beyond Arabia. After earlier attempts elsewhere, the Dutch successfully established coffee cultivation in Batavia on the island of Java, now part of Indonesia.
The success of coffee cultivation in Java encouraged further expansion to islands including Sumatra and Celebes. Java developed into an important coffee-producing region, and the Dutch East India Company became a major force in the global coffee trade.
By this stage, the origin story of coffee was no longer tied only to Ethiopia and Arabia. Cultivation had spread across new regions, making coffee increasingly available to consumers around the world.
Coffee Cultivation Expands Across the Americas
In 1714, the Mayor of Amsterdam presented a young coffee plant to King Louis XIV of France, and it was planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris.
In 1723, French naval officer Gabriel de Clieu transported a coffee seedling to Martinique. The plant survived the journey and flourished, helping establish large-scale coffee cultivation on the island.
Francisco de Mello Palheta later played an important role in the development of Brazil’s coffee industry after obtaining coffee seeds from French Guiana. From there, coffee cultivation continued to spread through the efforts of travellers, traders, missionaries and colonists.
By the end of the 18th century, coffee had become one of the world’s most important traded agricultural products, with cultivation extending far beyond its early origins in Ethiopia and Arabia.
FROM ORIGIN TO CUP
A Global Bean With Regional Character
Today, coffee is grown across many countries in the tropical belt, and each origin can contribute different flavour characteristics depending on variety, altitude, climate, processing and roasting.
Understanding where coffee comes from is a useful starting point for exploring the flavours in the cup—and for choosing beans that better match the way you like to brew.
