Coffee history
Many stories have been told about the history of coffee and its effects on the human body. According to some sources, the effect of coffee and caffeine on humans was noticed in Yemen sometime around 850 B.C. A hardworking shepherd noticed that sheep are becoming especially active after they ate some red beans, and when the shepherd himself tried them the effect was the same. A lone monk was passing by the shepherd, and also tried the beans and discovered that they can help him stay awake during the long prayers.
Other stories speak of an Arab who was exiled to Ethiopia with his followers, sentenced to die of starvation in the desert. One day, the hungry convicts have boiled the beans of an unknown plant and that enabled them to survive. This event in the nearby Al-Mocha port was seen as a sign from God, so both the plant and the beverage were named after it “Mocha”. Al-Moka Port has also become the most important location for exporting coffee from Yemen.
Upon arrival to Asia the coffee became the favorite drink of the Arabs, and later on also of the people around the world. The legend says that in 1555 two Syrian men brought the coffee for the first time to Istanbul, where later on a culture of coffee drinking has developed in special places and coffee shops, emphasizing the social effect of coffee drinking. Sometime during the 17th century the coffee came to the Republic of Venice and spread around the Europe from there. When we talk about the Balkans, the arrival of Ottoman Turks had a great influence, and the coffee as we drink and love it today is one of the heritages of that time.
