National Coffee Week 2014: The history of coffee

From bean to brew, there's more to the drink that has had a rich and mixed-blended history
A cup of Latte - what is your favourite coffee though?



A number of myths surround the origins of coffee and its first use but it is thought to have come from East Africa and cultivated by Arabs from the 14th century.
One legend suggests a goatherd named Kaldi discovered coffee in the Ethiopian highlands after noticing his goats, upon eating berries from a tree, became so spirited they did not want to sleep at night.
Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink from the berries and discovered it kept him awake for long hours. The abbot shared the discovery with the other monks who used the energizing effects to stay awake during long hours of evening prayer.
Coffee beans are believed to have been exported from Ethiopia to Yemen in the middle of the 15th century with Sufi monks using the drink to drive away fatigue and lethargy during night-time devotions in the monasteries.
From Yemen, coffee moved northward to Mecca and Medina, then to larger cities of Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad and Constantinople.

By the 16th century, the vibrant trade between Venetian merchants and the Muslim world brought a large variety of goods, including coffee, to the European port. Coffee-drinking was initially introduced to the wealthy, charging them heavily for the beverage before spreading across Europe.
In 1511, Mecca banned coffee for its stimulating effect before overturning the sanction in 1524 on orders from the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Selim I while Pope Clement VIII had to intervene to allow Catholics to consume it in 1600.
The first coffeehouse opened in Constantinople in 1554 with the first European coffee house opening in Venice in 1645, thriving as places where social and business life could be conducted in comfortable surroundings.
The word "coffee" entered the English language in 1582 as both the drink and coffeehouses spread, largely through the efforts of the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company.
The first coffeehouse in England was opened in St. Michael's Alley in Cornhill by Pasqua Rosée, the servant of Daniel Edwards, a trader in Turkish goods. Edwards imported the coffee and assisted Rosée in setting up the establishment.
Charles II tried to ban coffee in 1675.
Charles II tried to ban coffee in 1675.
 
By 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England with many used as focal points between the 1660s and 1670's for deep discussion of beliefs on religious and political issues.
This period of enlightenment was feared by the establishment, so much so that Charles II made an attempt to ban coffee houses in 1675. 
For many decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil was the biggest producer of coffee and monopolised the trade. However, a policy of maintaining high prices soon opened opportunities to other nations, such as Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The importance of coffee to the world economy cannot be overstated. It is one of the most valuable primary products in world trade, second only to oil as a source of foreign exchange to producing countries.
Its cultivation, processing, trading, transportation and marketing provide employment for hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is crucial to the economies and politics of many developing countries; exports of coffee accounting for more than 50 percent of their foreign exchange earnings.
Is there a North Wales coffee shop that stands out for you as well? If so, tell us via facebook , twitter , email Welshnews@dailypost.co.uk or by completing the form below.             
Source@ http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/national-coffee-week-2014-history-6922875

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