Coffee
All of us have probably had a coffee in the morning to get through the rest of the day. But how did that coffee come to you. The origin of coffee is quite a unique story. Coffee is a very powerful drink that has changed the course of human history.
When most of us think of coffee we associate it with Brazil or South America. But the origin story actually started in Ethiopia or Yemen (difference of opinion). A shepherd by the name Khaldi noticed his goats became very excited and energetic when they ate beans from a strange tree. He then had the guts to actually try it himself and noticed that it gave him a boost in energy as well.
Over time people started roasting the beans in water which created a sour and more powerful taste. This drink eventually traveled its way to Yemen. The name the Yemeni Arabs gave to this drink was القهوة (Qahwah) which came from the Arabic root word قهيا (Qahya) which means "to lose one's appetite".
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The reason they called it this was because whenever they would drink this they would literally lose their appetite. So they would drink the coffee after their meals. The Muslims of Yemen would drink coffee in order to pray at night for long continuous hours. Their was and still is a town in Yemen called المخا (Mokah), which is how we got the word mocha which is a specific type coffee.
This drink started to travel from Yemen to the rest of Arabia until it reached the highlands of the Ottoman Empire. Once it reached the Turks they revolutionized coffee and loved it even more than the Arabs. The Turks built the first coffeehouse in Istanbul, and later on built them in Egypt, Baghdad, and Damascus. The Turks mispronounced the word القهوة and called the drink کهقْة (Ḱahva).
When the Ottomans were attacking the area of Austria and Poland. They unfortunately lost the battle and started to leave their caravans behind. Coffee was a huge part of the Ottoman caravan, so for the first time the Polish and Austrian had witnessed this drink. They asked the Turks what this drink was called and they told them it was called کهقْة. The people of Austria and Poland called the drink "kava". The Italians took the same Turkish word as caffe and that's how we got the word coffee.
For a long time the popes forbade people from drinking coffee because to them it was an “evil drink” because of its association with Islam. So they gave a verdict and banned the drink and anyone who got caught drinking coffee was kicked out of the church. Eventually later on one of the later popes wanted to reverse the verdict so he grabbed a bag of coffee and baptized it and said it was now a “Christian” drink. After this event coffee became a part of European culture and helped open the way to the Enlightenment era.
When the Ottomans were attacking the area of Austria and Poland. They unfortunately lost the battle and started to leave their caravans behind. Coffee was a huge part of the Ottoman caravan, so for the first time the Polish and Austrian had witnessed this drink. They asked the Turks what this drink was called and they told them it was called کهقْة. The people of Austria and Poland called the drink "kava". The Italians took the same Turkish word as caffe and that's how we got the word coffee.
For a long time the popes forbade people from drinking coffee because to them it was an “evil drink” because of its association with Islam. So they gave a verdict and banned the drink and anyone who got caught drinking coffee was kicked out of the church. Eventually later on one of the later popes wanted to reverse the verdict so he grabbed a bag of coffee and baptized it and said it was now a “Christian” drink. After this event coffee became a part of European culture and helped open the way to the Enlightenment era.
Before coffee became famous in Europe, people would consume alcohol constantly throughout the day. People would start their day with alcohol in the morning, then have it with bread for lunch, then they would drink it before going to sleep. Before coffee got to Europe, majority of the people were drunk which made it hard to build a stable society. But when coffee was introduced to Europe, it had the exact opposite effects of alcohol. It made people more alert and think better. Seeing the benefits of Coffee the Europeans started to open up coffeehouses in Paris, London and Florence.
Then eventually when the British and the colonists were at war during the revolutionary war, the colonists boycotted tea and started to drink coffee because of the Boston Tea Party. This made coffee very popular and the new big drink. This big switch still impacts us today because according to the Huntington post Americans consume more than 400 million cups of coffee every day, which makes America the country that drinks the most coffee in the entire world. Coffee is the 2nd largest trade commodity in the world after oil.
Coffee is a very powerful drink that has changed the course of human history. So next time you drink a coffee in the morning remember the history of that coffee and how it came to you.
Then eventually when the British and the colonists were at war during the revolutionary war, the colonists boycotted tea and started to drink coffee because of the Boston Tea Party. This made coffee very popular and the new big drink. This big switch still impacts us today because according to the Huntington post Americans consume more than 400 million cups of coffee every day, which makes America the country that drinks the most coffee in the entire world. Coffee is the 2nd largest trade commodity in the world after oil.
Coffee is a very powerful drink that has changed the course of human history. So next time you drink a coffee in the morning remember the history of that coffee and how it came to you.