Family: Rubiaceae

Scientific name: Coffea arabica

Authority: L.

Common names: Arabica coffee, bun, bunchum, bunchung, coffee shrub of Arabia, mocha, mountain coffee,

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Coffee is a popular beverage made by infusing roasted coffee beans. These beans are the seeds contained in the drupe fruits (known as berries or cherries) of the Coffea plant, such as Coffea arabica, C. liberica, and C. robusta.

The first wild Coffea plant (Coffea arabica) was discovered in AD 850 and is indigenous to Ethiopia. Hence, the belief that coffee first originated in Ethiopia as this is where Coffea arabica grows naturally. Ethiopia is also the place where coffee plants were first cultivated. Cultivation of coffee is believed to have begun as early as AD 575, making Ethiopians the first groups of people to ever drink coffee.

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Although it is among the most widely consumed brews, not much is known about the true origins of coffee and over the ages a number of tales have been told about the its discovery.

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Abū Bakr al-Rāzī

The first written mention of coffee is by Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, most commonly known as Rhazes (or Razes), an Arabian physician in the 10^th Century. In his medical encyclopedia titled Kitab al-Hawi (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine), Rhazes uses the term bunchum to describe a drink brewed from the bun or coffee bean. He writes that the beverage has therapeutic properties such as being good for the stomach.

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 The Legend of Kaldi and the goats

Legend has it that in the 9th Century C.E. there lived a goatherd named Kaldi who would turn his goats loose every morning to wander in the hills and every evening the goats would return home of their own accord. However, one evening the goats failed to return, and Kaldi who was growing worried went searching for them. He searched high and low and could not find them. The following morning while searching he found them jumping and frisking around a small patch of bushes with shiny, dark leaves and red berries. Kaldi assumed that the berries were responsible for the way the goats were behaving, so he tried the berries for himself and very soon he too was jumping around with boundless energy. 

Other versions of the story say that Kaldi did not turn the goats loose but remaned with them all day and one afternoon he noticed them behaving strangely some distance away.

It is said that Kaldi gathered some of the berries to share with his wife. When he arrived home he told his wife what happened and gave her some of the berries. She was convinced that they were a gift from the gods, so she took them to the nearest monastery.

Other versions of the story say that on his way home Kaldi met a wise monk and gave him some of the berries.

One way or another, the berries came into the possession of the monks at the monastery. Some say the monks denounced the berries as something from the devil and threw them onto the fire. Others say that the monks studied the berries closely and experimented with them. One way or another, the berries came into contact with fire and as they roasted the berries, they released a delicious aroma, which attracted other monks. The monks collected the roasted berries and steeped them in boiling water to preserve them, then experimented by drinking the resulting brew. They discovered that the fragrant drink helped them stay awake during meditation and night prayers.

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Religious accounts

Islam

Fictional history (not actual history) has it that Prophet Muhammad fell into a deep slumber or became ill and prayed to Allah. The archangel Gabriel descended with a dark drink (or coffee) that was as dark as the Kaaba of Mecca, which after drinking was gave him immense strength that he could unseat 40 men from their saddles and make love to the same number of women. The angel is also believed to have brought Koran at this time.

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Christianity

In Genesis 25:34, It is believed that Jacob was brewing coffee beans and gave then to the tired Esau with some bread.

In I Samuel 25: 18, It is believed that the roasted grain that Abigail took to David and his men was roasted coffee.

In II Samuel 17:27, It is believed that the roasted grain brought to David was roasted coffee.

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Whether the legumes (the fruits or seeds of plants in the pea family) mentioned in the passages of scripture are actual coffee beans is open to conjecture.

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Following it’s discovery, knowledge of the coffee plant and its properties quickly spread to Egypt, Yemen, and Arabia where it became popular. The Arabs produced and marked coffee commercially and it was from there that it reached Europe. Today Brazil is the world’s leading producer of coffee. 

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Reference and further reading