Category: travel

Coffee is a popular morning drink in many places throughout the world.  Where did it originate? Who discovered it? There may be different stories about the origin, but this is one I found. Some people I know at work who are from Yemen say this is the story they know.

Some say the first coffee was brewed in Yemen.  There is a story of a Yemeni man traveling in Ethiopia who discovered  coffee.  The story says he came across some birds eating a plant.  The birds were energetic.  He decided to try the beans from the plant himself as he was exhausted from traveling.  He discovered the beans gave him energy as well.  The coffee beans were taken from Ethiopia to Yemen and later Yemeni traders brought the coffee plants to Yemen to grow them there.

Coffee became very popular in Yemen where people drank it in qubveh khaneh or coffee houses.  Coffee houses were place where people listened to music and played board games like chess.  When coffee drinking spread to other Arabic countries people would discuss political ideas and news at coffee houses.

Originally coffee was called qahwar in Arabic, which means wine of the beans,  Yemenis introduced coffee to other Arabic or Middle Eastern countries.  When coffee made its way to Turkey it was called kahve in Turkish and later it was called koffie in Dutch when it was introduced in Europe.

In the top picture is an Arabic coffee set. I learned from co-workers how to make it the traditional way: cooking it in a pot over a burner while stirring it. The coffee seems to be ground finer than other coffees, but I am not a coffee drinker.

People still drink it today for the same reasons the first person saw value in the plant: it gives you energy. This no doubt is from the caffeine. Coffee seems to be important the world over as a morning drink. What’s your favourite kind or way of making it?