The Coffee Story

The Coffee(house) Story

The history of coffee is a remarkable story, one that even attributed to the inspiration to open Beyu Caffe. It is rather amazing to think that a simple bean inside a cherry fruit was discovered in Ethiopia, traveled through the lands of Arabia and the Middle East, migrated to the lands of Europe where it was once considered the Devil's invention (until Pope Clement VIII himself declared it a truly Christian beverage), before making its way around the globe to America. There are a few disputes regarding the history of coffee, but one thing is for certain: the passion and enjoyment of coffee has played an integral role in the events and lives of countless individuals for centuries, thus making it history's official companion.

Coffee's Birth and the Dancing Goats

There is one simple truth about the discovery of coffee: its origin is shrouded in various legends and stories. There is one fable however that is told most often of coffee being discovered by dancing goats in Ethiopia some time around 300 AD to 500 AD. A goat herder complained to the leader of a nearby monastery that his flock would act in an unusual manner two to three times a night, frolicking and dancing around. The Imam visited the pasture where the goats would dance and noticed that there were clusters of bright red cherries growing on a shrub close by, and so he decided to try them himself.

The Imam boiled the cherries in water, and drank the resulting cherry-brew. He then discovered that he was able to stay awake through the night without any ill affects; in laymen terms, he was wired! Inspired and amazed by this enjoyable experience, he introduced the cherries to his Monks at the monastery for daily use. The Monks became more alert and were readily available to attend to the Devotions they were obliged to perform at nighttime; it also kept them in perfect health. These cherries with the green coffee bean inside became a great demand and were requested throughout the kingdom.

Coffee soon migrated north from Ethiopia to Arabia and Persia. The process to make coffee in the beginning included brewing the natural coffee cherries with the green coffee bean inside, but also separating the pulp and parchment and brewing the green beans separately. Around the 13th century, the process evolved whereby the green beans were dried before use. The beans were laid out in the hot sun to bake, which allowed the beans to be stored for a longer period of time. It was only a matter of time before people began to roast the beans over a charcoal fire, which is the traditional way of roasting coffee.