How humanity got hooked on coffee - Jonathan Morris
One day around 850 CE,
a goatherd named Kaldi observed that,
after nibbling on some berries,
his goats started acting abnormally.
Kaldi tried them himself,
and soon enough he was just as hyper.
This was humanity’s first
run-in with coffee—
or so the story goes.
When exactly people began
consuming coffee is unclear—
but at some point before the 1400s,
in what’s now Ethiopia,
people began foraging for wild coffee
in the forest undergrowth.
The reason coffee plants are equipped
with lots of caffeine
might be because it makes them
unattractive to herbivores
or more attractive to pollinators.
But either way, people caught
on to coffee’s advantages
and began making tea from its leaves;
combining its berries with butter and salt
for a sustaining snack;
and drying, roasting, and simmering
its cherries into an energizing elixir.
Coffee rode trade routes
into the Middle East,
and its widespread popularity began
brewing in earnest in the 1450s.
Upon returning from a visit to Ethiopia,
a Sufi leader recommended
that worshippers in Yemen
use coffee during ritual chants
and dances.
Soon enough,
people within the Ottoman Empire
began roasting and grinding the beans
to yield a darker, bolder beverage.
Many gathered in guesthouses
and outside mosques
to partake in coffee’s comforts.
But authorities grew concerned
about whether coffee’s influence
was innocent or intoxicating,
and if Muslims should be allowed
to drink it.
Indeed, in 1511, a religious court
in Mecca put coffee on trial.
Scholars finally deemed it permissible,
so coffeehouses sprang up in Damascus,
Istanbul, and beyond,
where clientele could sip coffee, smoke,
and enjoy a variety of entertainment.
By the late 1500s, people in Yemen
were farming coffee
and exporting it
from the port of Al-Makha,
which became known in other parts
of the world as Mocha.
But coffee was eventually transported—
or smuggled— into India,
and soon took root in Java and beyond.
Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire introduced
the stimulating substance to Europe.
Central London’s first coffeehouses
opened in the 1650s.
By 1663 there were more than 80.
And despite King Charles II’s
attempt to ban them in 1675,
coffeehouses kept simmering
as social and intellectual hotbeds.
In 1679, for instance,
patrons of Garraway’s coffeehouse
had the pleasure of watching Robert Hooke,
the scientist who coined the term “cell,”
publicly dissect a porpoise.
In France, people began mixing
coffee with milk and sugar.
And throughout the 1700s,
Paris’ coffeehouses hosted Enlightenment
figures like Diderot and Voltaire,
who allegedly drank 50 cups of coffee
a day.
Granted, these were likely small servings
of comparatively weak coffee—
but still, impressive.
Meanwhile, European empires began
profiting off coffee-growing,
establishing enslaved
or exploited workforces
in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
As cultivation boomed in Latin America,
fueled by slavery,
growers displaced Indigenous populations
and burned forests
to establish ever-expanding plantations.
By 1906, Brazil was exporting
over 80% of the world’s coffee.
That same year,
the Milan World’s Fair showcased
the first commercial espresso machine.
And alongside the development
of industrial roasting equipment
came various coffee brands.
By the mid-1950s, about 60% of
US factories incorporated coffee breaks.
As African countries cut colonial ties,
many ramped up coffee production.
And coffee drinking also later
made inroads in East Asia,
especially as canned,
pre-prepared beverages.
In more recent decades,
specialty coffees with an emphasis
on quality beans and brewing methods
grew popular and propelled farms
in Central America and East Africa.
Yet coffee workers worldwide continued
to endure inhumane conditions
and insufficient compensation.
This motivated certification efforts
for coffee production
that met ethical standards,
including minimum wage
and sustainable farming.
But issues still loom over the industry.
And because of climate change,
the equatorial “Bean Belt”
where coffee thrives
is projected to shrink
in upcoming decades.
It’s unclear exactly what
this might look like.
But scientists are
investigating possibilities
like resilient coffee hybrids that might
help weather the unpredictable future—
all to protect the beverage
that’s become a cherished part
of daily rituals worldwide.
