HOW WAS COFFEE DISCOVERED

There are many legends which portray the origin of coffee drinking.

One of the most widespread is about an exiled Arabian Sheik who saved himself from starvation while in the wilderness by making soup from the berries of the coffee shrub.

A more complete story of the origin of the coffee drinking is about Kaldi, a goat keeper, who lived in Ethiopia more than 1000 years ago. He noticed his goats behaved very strangely if they ate red berries from the coffee bush. Even older goats would leap about like young kids. Kaldi told his story to the abbot of a nearby monastery who decided to test the power of this berry for himself. He poured boiling water onto some berries to make a drink, which he found helped him to stay awake. He and the other monks then drank this liquid each night and they no longer felt sleepy during their long hour of prayer.

Although there are many legends about coffee and Muslim monks, it was definitely grown in Islamic Monastery gardens in the Yemen and there is evidence to suggest that coffee trees were cultivated about 1000 years ago.

COFFEE TIMELINE

Nearly all experts agree that Ethopia is where the coffee tree originated. Coffee is said to been discovered anywhere from 300 to 900 AD.

1554	In Turkey, this "Turkish Delight" is introduced to its people.
1615	Coffee is introduced to Venice.
1644	The French begin to savor the flavor of coffee.
1650	Vienna & England join the European bandwagon's love for coffee.
1668	Coffee makes the journey from Europe to America
1680	Coffee appears on American breakfast tables.
1693	Italian World traveler Giovanni Francesco Gemellis Careri leaves from Naples to Egypt, Turkey & Persia and discovered coffee and make record of it in letters back to Italy.
1772	Just a few years before the American Revolution, coffee was making its debut & becoming an acceptable replacement to the tea that King George started taxing. In protest to this high tax, there was The Boston Tea Party, and people started drinking more coffee. Around the same time the Europeans attracted customers with hot drinks & books, games, & even musical performers. It was 1732 Johann Sebatian Bach who wrote "Coffee antata" calling it "The most precious of bliss's".
TODAY	In the United States over 50% of all coffee is consumed at breakfast. An estimated over 50 countries grow excess of 8 billion pounds. 45 million cups are brewed everyday.

ITALIAN COFFEE TRADITION

The history of coffee in Italy starts in Venice, the final destination along the routes which the coffee beans travelled from their areas of origin since the first half of the 17th century. It was here that the first coffee parlour was opened.

But the great Italian tradition of coffee making begins with the Espresso.The first espresso coffee-making machine came onto the scene in Italian coffee parlours at the beginning of the 20th century. The coffee made in this way owes its name, "espresso"' to the speed with which this type of machine lets the coffee by forcing hot water and steam through finely ground coffee to produce a strong, thick, brew crowned with a beautiful layer of dense golden foam know s crema is a heritage of Italian culture & tradition which can now be appreciated worldwide.