The myth of coffee

Who can deny the pleasure of a cup of coffee? Typical aroma with a touch of bitterness makes anyone must be tempted to taste it. Especially if added with milk, hmmm more delicious only. Coffee is also a breakfast companion that fits. Because the content in coffee can improve the spirit and ability of a person's cognition. So you can spend the day with more energy.

But do you know how the history of real coffee ? Where does coffee come from and how does this drink become everyone's favorite?

At first coffee is food, not drinks

The history of coffee can be traced back to a thousand years ago. Precisely in East Africa which is now an Ethiopian country. Galla tribe who inhabit the place were the first people to consume coffee. Not as a drink as we know today, but as food. Way by mixing the coffee beans that have not been peeled off with animal fat. Then solidify to the shape of a bar. This food is usually eaten as a snack or food reserves while hunting.

The myth of coffee discovery

The story of Kaldi and his goat is the most famous myth of the discovery of coffee.
Although Galla tribe is considered the first party to consume coffee, but no one knows for sure who the first coffee brewing. But in Ethiopia there is a hereditary tale of coffee discovery as a drink. Once hundreds of years ago in Ethiopia, there lived a shepherd named Kaldi. He keeps a lot of goats and every day brings the cattle for grass.

One day Kaldi was surprised by the behavior of a goat who became hyperactive after eating red berries. All night, the goat bleeds nonstop. Surprised, Kaldi brought a handful of red seeds to a monastery. There he immediately told what had happened to the monk. The monk immediately asked for the seed and immediately threw it into the fire. Not long after, the aroma of roasted coffee filled the monastery.

A young monk quietly grabbed the coffee beans between the rest of the charcoal. Encouraged by curiosity, he then brewed the beans with hot water and tasted them. Such is the myth of the discovery of coffee as a drink. The story is still not verified. Is there indeed a goatherd named Kaldi who finds coffee or just limited to essays only.

From Ethiopia to Europe

Arab traders are the ones who first brought coffee out of Ethiopia. But coffee carriers outside Ethiopia were recorded. He was an Arab merchant. He then cultivated a coffee plant in Yemen. The people there call the coffee by the name of Qahwa which means to prevent sleep.

Once the popularity of coffee led to many coffee shops in those days. Coffee is not only enjoyed at home but also with friends in coffee shops. There they not only drink coffee, but also talk while listening to the song. The popularity of coffee finally came to Europe. Curious travelers started to visit the Arabs to taste it. It was not until the seventeenth century that Europeans brought coffee to their continent.

Once again the popularity of coffee exploded. Unfortunately not everyone responds positively. Some consider coffee to be a demonic discovery. This controversy forced Pope Clement VIII to step in to complete it. After tasting it, the Pope declared a coffee circulation permit. From this point on, coffee went into the European breakfast menu, replacing wine and beer. Moreover, coffee drinkers have higher productivity than those who do not drink it in the morning.

Spread to the Americas

The process of distributing coffee to the whole world began in the mid 1600s. Where coffee was brought from Europe to New Amsterdam (now New York) to be traded. As a result, many coffee shops have sprung up and make this drink a favorite of Americans.

Slowly coffee shifts the dominance of the first popular tea. The new coffee plant entered America in 1720. The bearer was Gabriel de Clieu, a sailor who obtained his seed from the coffee plant of King Louis XIV. The first location of coffee cultivation is Martinique Island around the Caribbean Sea. From here, coffee plants spread all over America, from Caribbean Islands to South America.

Spread to Asia to get to Indonesia
The first coffee beans in Asia were brought by the Dutch in 1658 . They tried to plant it in Sri Lanka. But it seems that this planting process is less successful. Evidently there is no more detailed record about the history of coffee in this country.

Only in 1696, the Dutch brought coffee to Indonesia, precisely to the island of Java, from Malabar, India. Coffee cultivation in Java is a huge success with the number one coffee quality in the world. This makes Indonesian coffee succeeded in mastering three eighth world coffee market. Unfortunately, most of the profits earned from the sale of coffee go to the Dutch pockets and the local nobles of Indonesia. Coffee farmers hardly get anything from selling coffee.

In addition, in 1830 the Dutch imposed cultivation of maksa. Where coffee becomes one of the plants that must be cultivated. As a result, rice production dropped dramatically, leaving some areas in Java hit by severe hunger. This is also the dark side of coffee history in Indonesia.