Legend of Coffee

THE STORY OF COFFE

The first coffee plants are said to have come from the Horns of Africa on the shores of Red Sea. Originally, coffee beans were taken as a food and not as a beverage. East African tribes such as the Kikuyu Tribe are said to grind the coffee and combine it with animal fats which is then rolled into little balls. They believe that this concontion gives their warrior extra ordinary energy in battles.
Later, around the year 1000AD fermentation process was applied to coffee beans. Ethiopians made a type of wine from coffee berries by fermenting the dried beans in water. Coffee also grew naturally on the Arabian Peninsula, and it was there, during the first coffee was brewed. The so called "stimulating properties" of coffee were thought to give religious ecstacy and the drink earned a very mystical sort of reputation, shrouded in secrecy and associated with priests and doctor. This was described by Mark Helprin in his "Memoir from Antproof Case (1995) in this way: "The Voodoo priest and all his powers were as nothing compared to Espresso, Cappuccino, and Mocha which are stronger than all religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself."
So it is not surprising that two prominent legends emerged to exlain the discovery of the magic conconction.

THE LEGEND OF KALDI

According to the folklore, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his herd became friskier than usual after eating an unusual kind of cherries. Upon seeing the changed in energy in his goats, he tasted the cherry himself. He was captivated by its invigorating effect, and was even spotted by the nearby monks dancing with his goats. The monks who saw Kaldi became curious and began boiling the beans themselves to unleash the mystical power of the beans. Soon, they used the liquid to stay awake during all night religious ceremony and meditation.

THE LEGEND OF THE MUSLIM DERVISH

The othe story is about Muslin dervish who was condemned by his enemy to wander about aimlessly in the desert. In his delirium, the Muslim heard a voice from nowhere instructing him to consume the fruit of the nearby coffee tree. Confused, the man tried to soften the beans in water, and when this failed, he just drank the liquid in which the coffee was soaked. Interpreting his survival and energy as a sign from Allah, he returned to his people, spreading the faith and the magical recipe.