Many of us think of coffee as merely an energy boost for the day ahead. We don’t think too much about its origins and how it has developed over the years. The fact is coffee has been on a vast and captivating journey since it was first founded in Ethiopia, and that’s before it even reached the Western part of the world before heading to the UK.
Cafe Casa explores the fascinating story of coffee.
Coffee in the Middle East.
Rumour has it that coffee was uncovered some time pre-15th century. A goat herder in Ethiopia noticed his stock were behaving erratically after grazing on what looked like beans from a plant. As it turned out, these were coffee beans and the discovery soon reached Mecca and Cairo.
Whilst the energising effects of the coffee bean were initially enjoyed as a snack, it soon became apparent that these beans could be mixed with hot water to develop what we today know as a cup of coffee. And with the Ottoman Empire’s dominance of the Arabian Peninsula, by the end of the 15th century coffee houses were a common sight.
It is believed the popularity of coffee in this part of the world was so great due to Muslims being prohibited from drinking wine. Prior to the discovery of coffee and coffee houses, this made it difficult for people to find an excuse to meet up with friends and family for a chat. The coffee house was a highly sought-after solution and helped coffee become a necessity.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for coffee, however. Those with a real interest in the history of coffee will know that there have been many attempts to ban the beverage over the years. For Muslim officials, coffee houses represented a threat to mosques as central gathering places, whilst Jewish people questioned whether coffee should be consumed on the sabbath.
Even when it reached Europe, coffee was still considered by many as the devil’s drink.
Whilst the Western world today drink coffee much the same way as we do, there was initially an enormous variety of ways to prepare and consume the drink. These included grounding the coffee beans and mixing them with goat and sheep fat, as a quick source of energy for soldiers and hunters.
Coffee reaches Europe.
Coffee was first introduced to Europe when travellers to the Middle East saw the success of coffee and brought it back with them on their journey.
As with most new inventions, it did raise a few eyebrows as being a suspicious find. Lots of people refused to see the qualities of coffee and labelled it as “the bitter invention of Satan” out of pure fear. It caused so much controversy that in Venice, 1615, Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene and decide once and for all whether coffee should be embraced…or banned.
Thankfully for coffee lovers today, he gave coffee Papal approval due to finding the drink extremely satisfying. From this moment forward, coffee houses were developing at rapid pace just like they were in the East. They were regarded as the centre of social activity and communication. It is believed the first coffee house in the UK was found in Oxford, in 1652.
It was in our country that “penny universities” also appeared. It was in these establishments that you could buy a cup of coffee for just one penny…if only it was still like that today! Rather incredibly, prior to the find of coffee it was beer and wine that many Europeans drank with their breakfast. Coffee soon replaced these beverages, with many people noting that the uplifting effects of coffee enabled people to perform better at work.
You could point back to this moment as the time when office coffee machines were first sought-after.
By the mid 17th century, there were coffee shops all over the continent, of which 300 of them were in London alone.
