A Brief History of Coffee Super
Have you ever heard the story of Ethiopian shepherds who discovered coffee? The shepherd dances with excitement after finding his sheep eating the fallen fruits under the coffee tree. It's an interesting story to tell, but it's not true.
Coffee does indeed originate in Ethiopia, and it grows in the wild in the country. Local tribes have been consuming coffee since the 9th century. But it wasn't until the 15th century, when Yemenis bought coffee beans back to the Middle East for the first time, that coffee trees began to be widely cultivated. Coffee became a drink that got popular among monks because they found that they were more attentive when they prayed after drinking it. After gaining more and more attention and popularity, coffee spread to the Ottoman Empire.
In the 17th century, coffee spread to Europe, and in London, coffee was particularly loved and took root, and coffeehouses became places for men to socialize, discuss politics, and talk about business. Coffee has become more international as coffee culture spreads to major European capitals. In the mid-18th century, coffee went around the world through various routes, including the then newly formed United States.
After the Boston Tea Party of 1773, numerous trade restrictions and boycotts of tea helped propel coffee to its prominence in the United States. In the middle of the 18th century, the cultivation of coffee trees continued to increase, and the Caribbean, India, and the Americas all joined the coffee industry as an international trade, which also transformed the American coffee culture into what we are familiar with today. From the early instant coffee to the modern coffee house, coffee has become an indispensable beverage for many people's daily life. It is the "fuel" of our work and the cultural element that unites society.
In its past history, coffee has the same status as corn and grains, and is regarded as a staple food. It was only in the past few decades that we began to realize that there are different qualities of coffee, which has slowly contributed to our understanding of what we call "specialty coffee" today.
If you're a history enthusiast, there are plenty of books from the bookcases to dive into for coffee's rich and interesting history, but for those of you who just want to brew better coffee at home, just keep in mind: the coffee nowadays is better than ever in history!