History of Coffee

Coffee was first discovered in Eastern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually frisky after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomena, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him a renewed energy. The news of this energy laden fruit quickly spread throughout the region.

Monks hearing about this amazing fruit, dried the berries so that they could be transported to distant monasteries. They reconstituted these berries in water, ate the fruit, and drank the liquid to provide stimulation for a more awakened time for prayer.

Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian Peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen.

From there, coffee traveled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today.

Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic Church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.

Coffee houses spread quickly across Europe becoming centers for intellectual exchange. Many great minds of Europe used this beverage, and forum, as a springboard to heightened thought and creativity.

Baba Budan, a muslim pilgrim, smuggled a few coffee beans in the early 17th century. Commercially, plantations were started as a British investment. As the number of British growers increased, cultivation was steadily extended through out Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu. Most of the coffee planted in the early years were Arabica and Robusta.

During the late 1800’s, the Salem Collector, Mr. Cockburn, liked the climatic conditions of Yercaud and decided it will be an ideal place for a British settlement. He introduced coffee in the Shevroys along with spices and fruits as intercrops. Mr. M. Senthilkumar was one of the first Indian planters to purchase and do business with the British in the Shevroys and Kerala. Mr. M.S.P. Rajes, introduced some rare species of coffee like the Hawaiian Red Catura, rare spices and fruit trees like mangosteen, macadamia nuts, jojoba, kiwi fruits and blue berries.

Today, coffee is a giant global industry employing more than 20 million people. This commodity ranks second only to petroleum in terms of dollars traded worldwide. With over 400 billion cups consumed every year, coffee is the world's most popular beverage. If you can imagine, in Brazil alone, over 5 million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over 3 billion coffee plants.