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Read more about the origins of coffee in part 1
Nowadays, you can walk to your local grocery store or your favorite neighborhood café and purchase a 1/2 pound bag of coffee beans, whole or ground. There's a Starbucks on every corner depending on where you're at, and if a French press doesn't graze your countertop, then a regular ol' coffeemaker probably does. Coffee is one of the most valuable traded products globally, and in many ways, relied upon. Coffee wasn't always easy to come by. Well before the green mermaid and the environmentally hazardous K-cups became a dime a dozen, coffee had to find its way to the west.
Egypt, Persia, Turkey, and Syria had all been enjoying coffee since the 16th century. By the 17th century, travel became more frequent. Thousands of pilgrims were visiting the holy city of Mecca, where coffee was already widespread. It's been said that not a single coffee plant existed outside of Arabia or Africa until the 1600s when an Indian pilgrim, Baba Budan, left Mecca with fertile coffee beans. The beans resulted in competitive European coffee trade.
Knowledge of this unusual "dark black beverage" spread as more and more Europeans returned from their Near East travels. The coffee beans' journey west had begun.
British Captain John Smith is credited with the arrival of coffee in the United States in 1607. Smith, the founder of the Colony of Virginia, introduced coffee to other Jamestown settlers after learning about it during his travels to Turkey.
The Dutch founded the first European-owned coffee estate in Sri Lanka in 1616, although they wouldn't become successful in the trade until planting seeds on the island of Java in what is now known as Indonesia. After that, they expanded their cultivation to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes.
The French began growing coffee in the Caribbean while the Spanish grew it in Central America. The Portuguese were growing in Brazil, all while European coffee houses sprang up in Italy and later France, reaching a new level of popularity.
The Italians were among the first in the west to bring in large quantities of coffee beans, with Venice being the first European port to import coffee beans. This was all happening while coffee houses were quickly becoming the epicenter of socializing. The local clergy and others were fearful and suspicious of coffee and its effects, going as far as to call it "a drink from the devil" or "the bitter invention of Satan." It was outlawed for carrying an air of intoxication and mysticism from Islamic countries.
Pope Clement VIII demanded to try it before deciding whether it should remain banned from society. He found coffee to be so incredibly satisfying; he gave it his papal blessing. Legend has it that he declared, “This devil’s drink is so delicious… we should cheat the devil by baptizing it!” Thank Heavens!
“Penny universities” became a thing in England. For a single penny, one could buy a cup of coffee and engage in thought-provoking conversation. Coffee houses had already been dubbed "Schools of the Wise," where one would go to learn more about what was going on in the world. In essence, the coffee house was today's newspaper or internet!
News of the crowd-pleasing reviving beverage continued to spread, reaching New York by 1668 and replacing beer as the city's most popular breakfast drink. Surprisingly, beer and wine were the breakfast beverages of choice in many countries at the time. Coffee soon replaced these as those who drank it instead of alcohol began their days more alert and energized. The best part of waking up, am I right? Even the quality of coffee drinkers' work improved. It's believed that this was a harbinger of the modern-day office coffee service.
Up until the American War of Independence, the colonists actually drank more tea than their British counterparts. In London, coffee was the preferred beverage. The Boston Tea Party most likely had something to do with those tables turning around. Drinking coffee became a patriotic duty after 324 chests of tea, imported by theBritish East India Company, were thrown into Boston Harbor. This act was in protest of the taxes imposed by King George III.
The famed Brazilian coffee owes its very existence to a Portuguese lieutenant named Francisco de Melo Palheta. Sent by the emperor to French Guiana to fetch coffee seedlings in 1727, he was met with steadfast unwillingness. According to the story, de Melo Palheta seduced the coffee-coveting Governor's wife, who was captivated by his good looks. The lieutenant managed to smuggle out some of Guiana's prized coffee seeds in a large bouquet given to him by the woman upon his departure. That bouquet went on to Brazil to become a billion-dollar industry today as the number one producer of the world's coffee.
Coffee seeds continued to be carried to newly discovered lands. From lush, tropical forests to cold, rugged mountains, coffee plantations were established worldwide. Some thrived, like Brazil's, and others were short-lived. Nevertheless, nearing the end of the 18th century, coffee had become one of the world's most profitable and sought-after commodities. Today, it is second only to oil.
In part 3 of this series, we'll discuss coffee's evolution. How was it prepared, and how did these preparations change over time? Do you have a favorite coffee? Where does it originate from, and how would you describe its tasting notes?
Read more about how coffee was used throughout history in part 3
