ALL YOU NEED IS A CUP OF COFFEE SERIES #Part1

☕ Please, go to your kitchen, make a cup of coffee then come back ☕

"It just came up and somehow it was considered as a sin because of its mystery. However, it didn’t give up and traveled around the world by making people addicted. In some way, like a miracle, it was the medicine for you, mentally and physically. On the other hand, ironically, it was something you should avoid. Some of you haven’t even experienced it yet, some of you’ve tried and regretted it. Some of you have been crazy about it. It was a sudden fondness for the human being. Its existence was recognized spontaneously but quickly, it turned into something valuable. Briefly, it was something so unforgettable that you couldn't leave behind."

This is a series about anything you might want to know about coffee. Here I am with the first part of my special series!

Today I am here to tell you some coffee stories from the history of our tiny little red berries.

There are a couple of legends about how was coffee discovered. There are so many details about them but I don’t want to take your time, I want to make you happy and excited. Our point is coffee, I cannot disappoint you.

Coffee beans are in these red berries. It is really interesting because nobody cared about what they were even though their eye-catching appearance. Don't worry, they were finally discovered by someone who isn't known because of these complicated and unproven stories. (I don't care whoever you are, I'm thankful to you for your discovery). Let's have a look at these legends.

WHICH ONE IS THE BEGINNING?

KALDI AND HIS DANCER GOATS

According to the first and the earliest legend which takes place in Ethiopia a goatherd, named Kaldi, is our main character in the 9th century. One day, Kaldi goes outside with his goats in order to graze them. When his goats get hungry, he sees them eating something unrecognizable. He looks at this fruit and sees that it is some kind of red berry that grows in a weird plant. After a while, goats are observed to become so energetic and excited. It is said that they begin dancing with passion after eating this magical fruit. Now, they are so active that they cannot sleep at night after eating these berries. Kaldi cannot understand why they are affected by this unknown fruit. As so as to figure it out, he also tries to eat and taste this berry. He thinks, it isn't tasty but it has a bitter flavor. Although he isn't used to this taste, he feels the energy it gives to him. When he realizes that he has found something interesting and unfamiliar, he decides to notify the local monastery of what he has found. After that coffee beans begin to spread. It is the most famous story about the begging of the connection between people and coffee beans. However, unfortunately, there isn’t any evidence about this story so we cannot accept it as officially "the beginning".

TRAVELLER SUFI

For the other legend, it is said that a Sufi found the coffee beans during his Etiophia travel for his job. It is also legendary but again it isn't proved. He is believed to have discovered coffee beans by observing what birds had been eating at that time. He had also the same curiosity as Kaldi because he noticed that these birds had been whistling more and more frequently and loudly after eating their red berry feed.

OROMO PEOPLE

According to the other legend, Oromo People in Kaffa, a place in Ethiopia, were the first ones who noticed the energizing coffee beans. They were slaves so they were taken away across the Red Sea to Mocha, the port city of Yemen. That's why it is thought that they caused coffee to leap coffee beans with themselves. There is no evidence about this story like the others.

PRAYER OMAR

Yemen is the first place that coffee was roasted, according to the other legend. In this story, our character is Omar who is able to cure people with his prays. As you see, he has mystical powers. Because of a reason which we don't know, he is exiled once from Mocha to a desert cave near Ousab. It can be easy to predict that this punishment is challenging for him. Starving, Omar looks for something he can eat. Then he sees the red berries with huge happiness. First, he tries to chew them. Then, he takes their seeds and tries to roast and boil them.

When he drinks this weirds brown-color beverage, he notices that he is not sleepy or hungry anymore. After that he tells everybody in Mocha these berries as a miracle drug. In addition, what he found is so loved that he is forgiven because of his discovery.

MUSLIMS IN YEMEN

Despite all these stories, the earliest evidence as a document is showed that the first credible trail of coffee beans was in Yemen. In the late 15th century, Muslim Sufis were using these miraculously surprising beans in order to be awake at night for their devotions to God. This beverage was giving them energy and it was making them concentrate on what they try to do.

By the 16th century, it was being seen everywhere on lands of the Ottoman Empire. Muslims called it “Kahwa” which means “wine” in Arabic. “Kahwa” became something important for their culture because drinking kahwa was turning into a valuable reason for meetings, daily conversations, or even for the most precious celebrations and events. Muslims were opening special reunion places which are called "kahvehane" for drinking coffee. Even though there was suspense and fear about this beverage after it had been spread all over the country, they couldn’t help with its increasing value among the public.