The origin of coffee
Many people believe that coffee originates from Central or South America, and this belief has it´s logical root in the fact that those are the places where most of today´s coffee is grown. The real mother land of coffee is Ethiopia where legend says a shepherd discovered the energizing effects of the coffee plant after letting his goats eat from its leaves. The name coffee comes from the Arabic word qahwa, which is synonymous with «that which prevents sleep». In the beginning coffee was made from the leaves and fruits of the bush and not until the 13th century it was discovered that much better and tastier coffee was made by roasting and then boiling the seed of the bush´s little red fruit.
The cultural journey of coffee
Around 600 AD coffee started spreading from Africa, first to Arabia and from there on to Turkey and then Europe. In the beginning it was used carefully, mostly for religious and medical purposes but as time passed the energizing black drink became more and more popular and in 1475 the world´s first coffee house was opened in Turkey.
It was in Italy that the common interest for coffee really exploded, with the rich parts of Venice as starting point. From there it spread to the rest of Europe, and everyone was enchanted by the black beverage. In the beginning most countries didn´t allow women in the coffee houses, Germany was an excuse. In England coffee was given many medical benefits, but at times it was also said to make men impotent. Wherever coffee landed, it stayed and before it was generally accepted in each country´s culture, it made a huge buzz – both positive and negative. Many attempts to ban coffee have been made throughout history, and many men died in the struggles, but coffee survived them all.
Today coffee is a cultural phenomenon with many different faces. The days when people were making simple drip brew coffee and were satisfied with it, are long gone. Today, hi-tech espresso machines decorate modern kitchens all over the world. Everybody wants easy access to a good shot of espresso or a nice cappuccino at all times, and there is also some prestige involved in the making process since it takes some hard earned skills to make a decent espresso.
The significance of coffee houses and cafés has increased dramatically. They are very often the meeting point for social gatherings of different kinds, and the coffee menus are as long as any restaurant´s – at least – and full of different variations of coffee, with something for each taste.