The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century in the accounts of Ahmed al-Ghaffar in Yemen. It was here in Arabia that coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed in a similar way to how it is prepared now. Coffee was used by Sufi circles to stay awake for their religious rituals. Accounts differ on the origin of the coffee plant prior to its appearance in Yemen. From Ethiopia, coffee could have been introduced to Yemen via trade across the Red Sea. One account credits Muhammad Ibn Sa'd for bringing the beverage to Aden from the African coast. Other early accounts say Ali ben Omar of the Shadhili Sufi order was the first to introduce coffee to Arabia. According to al Shardi, Ali ben Omar may have encountered coffee during his stay with the Adal king Sadadin's companions in 1401.

Prologue

Kaldi or Khalid was a legendary Ethiopian goatherd who discovered the coffee plant around 850 CE, according to popular legend, after which it entered the Islamic world then the rest of the world.

Kaldi 

The earliest mention of coffee noted by the literary coffee merchant Philippe Sylvestre Dufour is a reference to bunchum in the works of the 10th century CE <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Iran' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Persian</a> physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, known as Rhazes in the West.

First mention of Coffee 

The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the late 15th century, by Sufi Imam Muhammad Ibn Said Al Dhabhani who is known to have imported goods from Ethiopia to Yemen.  

Dark bean spreads 

By 1414, the plant was known in Mecca, and in the early 1500s was spreading to the <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/Mamluk-Sultanate' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Mamluk</a> Sultanate of <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Egypt' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Egypt</a> and North Africa from the Yemeni port of Mocha.

Coffee makes its way to Egypt 

In 1511, Khair Beg, the Governor of Mecca, banned coffee as a dangerous drug that stimulated radical thinking in the people of the city. He believed that coffee was a dangerous intoxicant equal to wine, which is prohibited by the Koran. He sent his forces to capture coffee from the vendors and burned their stocks in the streets.

Coffee is Banned

However, these bans were to be overturned in 1524 by an order of the <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Ottoman-Empire' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Ottoman</a> Turkish Sultan <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Ottoman-Empire-Suleiman-the-Magnificent' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Suleiman I</a>, with Grand Mufti Mehmet Ebussuud el-İmadi issuing a fatwa allowing the consumption of coffee.

Coffee Ban Overturned 

These coffee houses also opened in Syria, especially in the cosmopolitan city of Aleppo and then in Istanbul, the capital of the <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Ottoman-Empire' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Ottoman Empire</a>, in 1554.

Coffee reaches Istanbul 

Coffee was first introduced to Europe on the island of Malta in the 16th century. It was introduced there through slavery. Turkish Muslim slaves had been imprisoned by the Knights of St John in 1565—the Year of the Great Siege of Malta, and they used it to make their traditional beverage.  

Knights and Coffee 

In 1580 the Venetian botanist and physician Prospero Alpini imported coffee into the <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/Republic-of-Venice' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Republic of Venice</a> from <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Egypt' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Egypt</a> and soon coffee shops started opening one by one when coffee spread and became the drink of the intellectuals, of social gatherings, even of lovers as plates of chocolate and coffee were considered a romantic gift.

Venetian Cup 

The 16th century was also the time when coffee was first introduced to the adoring throngs of Europe. A number of the clergy in the Catholic Church believed that the drink would corrupt their congregations with its great tasting bedevilment. They labeled it Satanic and pressed for it to be banned by the Church. However, upon tasting coffee, Pope Clement VIII declared: 'Why, this Satan's drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.' Clement allegedly blessed the bean because it appeared better for the people than alcoholic beverages. The Year often cited is 1600. It is not clear whether this is a true story, but it may have been found amusing at the time.  

Pope baptizes coffee 

Pieter van den Broecke, a Dutch merchant, obtained some of the closely guarded coffee bushes from Mocha, Yemen, in 1616. He took them back to Amsterdam and found a home for them in the Botanical gardens, where they began to thrive. This apparently minor event received little publicity, but was to have a major impact on the history of coffee.

Dutch does Coffee 

The first coffeehouse in <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-England' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>England</a> was opened in Oxford in 1652. In London, the first one was opened later that same Year in at St Michael’s Alley, Cornhill, by an eccentric Greek named Pasqua Roseé. Soon they were commonplace.

English drink something else besides tea 

In <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Germany' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Germany</a>, coffeehouses were first established in North Sea ports, including Bremen (1673) and Hamburg (1677).

Möchtest du Kaffee? 

In 1669, Soleiman Agha, Ambassador from Sultan Mehmed IV, arrived in <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Paris' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Paris</a> with his entourage bringing with him a large quantity of coffee beans. Not only did they provide their French and European guests with coffee to drink, but they also donated some beans to the royal court.

Parisien café 

The first record of coffee growing in <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-India' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>India</a> is following the introduction of coffee beans from Yemen by Baba Budan to the hills of Chikmagalur, Karnataka.

Coffee in India 

The first coffeehouse in <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Austria' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Austria</a> opened in Vienna in 1683 after the Battle of Vienna, by using supplies from the spoils obtained after defeating the <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Ottoman-Empire' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Ottoman Turks</a>. The officer who received the coffee beans, Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, a <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Poland' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Polish</a> military officer (possibly of Ruthenian origin - according to modern <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Ukraine' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Ukrainian</a> authors, opened the coffee house and helped popularize the custom of adding sugar and milk to the coffee. The coffee house was called 'Blue Bottle'.

War booty

After the Boston Tea Party of 1773, large numbers of Americans switched to drinking coffee during the <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/American-Revolutionary-War' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>American Revolution</a> because drinking tea had become unpatriotic

Colonials prefer coffee over tea 

Arabica is the first imported coffee variety to <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Vietnam' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Vietnam</a> since 1857. The first is the trial planting in the northern provinces such as Ha Nam, Phu Ly, then expanding to provinces like Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh. Then spread to the central provinces. Finally, coffee grows in the Central Highlands and it is recognized that the Central Highlands is a good place to grow coffee.

Vietnamese Coffee 

The first European-style coffeehouse opened in Tokyo, <a href='https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Japan' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'>Japan</a> in 1888, and closed four years later.

Nippon kohe 

În 1511, Khair Beg, guvernatorul Mecca, a interzis cafeaua ca un medicament periculos care a stimulat gândirea radicală la oamenii orașului. El credea că cafeaua este un intoxicant periculos egal cu vinul, care este interzis de Coran. Și -a trimis forțele să capteze cafea de la vânzători și și -a ars stocurile pe străzi.

Cafeaua este interzisă