History of Coffee

The Origins of Coffee

Legends tell us that once upon a time a Shepherd in the Ethiopian Highlands noticed that his goats were restless having eaten from a plant with red, yellow and green berries. Upon trying the beans the Shepherd realised that they were a source of energy and from there the story of coffee began.

Up until the middle ages Coffee was only grown around the Arabian Peninsula. With the Expansion of the Turkish Osmanian Empire the drink started to spread and it was not until the 17th century that the coffee plant was introduced to the parts of the world that today produce the most coffee i.e the East Indies, West Indies, Southern and Central America & KENYA.

In the late 19th century the coffee species robusta was discovered in the Congo Basin. In the early 20th Century Instant Coffee was first produced in Japan and the decaffeinating of coffee started.