Coffee originated in Eastern Africa in what is now the country of Ethiopia. Legend has it that a goat herder noticed his herd acting frisky after eating the cherries from a wild shrub. Curious about the effects this wild berry had on his herd, he decided to eat some of the berries and discovered that it gave him an invigorating amount of energy.

A group of local monks noticed the goat herder dancing around with his herd and inquired on what was causing him to act this way. After finding out the effects the berries had on the goat herder they began picking them to help them stay awake during all night religious ceremonies. The monks would eat the berries as well as boil them in water to make a liquid drink that was the first version of what has become today’s brewed coffee.

The berries continued to spread to the Arabian Peninsula where it was first commercially cultivated. The area that is now Yemen became the primary source of coffee during the fifteenth century.

Coffee made its way to Europe in the early 1600’s and soon fell under criticism from many in the Catholic Church because of its stimulating effects. Many wanted the Pope to ban the beverage but the Pope was already a coffee drinker and he approved it as a Christian beverage. By the mid- 1600’s coffee had spread across the entire continent of Europe.

Coffee’s first introduction to the America’s came in the late 1600’s when it was introduced by the French to the island of Martinique. It quickly spread across the tropical Latin American countries and today is the leading export of all Latin American countries.

Coffee became the national drink of the United States after the colonies protested the high taxes on tea with the famous Boston Tea Party. Coffee continues today as America’s favorite beverage with over 400 billion cups served every year.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind petroleum with a value of over $10 billion dollars traded per year. It is grown in over 50 countries and employs more than 20 million people worldwide.