Ethiopian Coffee: Where Coffee Began

Coffee has become a hot commodity in almost every country around the world. According to National Geographic, coffee is the second most widely consumed drink in the world after tea, but when it brews, I mean, boils down to it, how did coffee become so popular and where did it all begin? Here’s the telling history behind coffee and how it came to be the go-to drink to start your day.

 

What is Ethiopian Coffee?

Simply put, Ethiopian coffee is coffee that is grown in Ethiopia. There are no concrete answers on exactly when coffee was discovered, however, the overwhelming consensus is that it started with an Abssynian (Ethiopian) goat herder in 850 A.D., Kaldi, who stumbled upon coffee after finding that his goats were full of energy from consuming the coffee cherries. Weird beginnings, but we’ll take it. After taking these cherries to a local monk who brewed the coffee cherries, word quickly spread across the Arabian peninsula and thus began the official cultivation and trade of coffee as a cross-cultural commodity.

By the 15th century, coffee became an increasingly popular drink often enjoyed in social settings and at home. Whether you were heading to a local festival or enjoying breakfast with family on a Saturday morning, locals in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, ancient Persia, Egypt, and Turkey could all be found enjoying a fresh cup of coffee.