The History of Coffee
While there are many stories about the history of coffee, there is one that remains the accepted legend. Coffee history has it that a goat herder named Kaldi discovered animals becoming frisky after eating the berries off a certain plant (yup, coffee). Coffee soon spread throughout the Arab world, and was brought to Europe by The History of CoffeeVenetian traders in the early 17th Century.
The Stamp Act of 1776 gave coffee its biggest boost in history when it placed a tax on tea, which was then the U.S.’s national drink, thus making tea more expensive and nudging people over to coffee.The quality of coffee in the U.S. declined after World War II with the widespread introduction of Robusta coffee. This species was developed to improve yields, and grow in marginal conditions. Cheap Robusta coffees were adopted by the giant commercial roaster for mass market canned and instant blends.
For more information about coffee beans, go to Bean Basics.
For more information about the process coffee goes through, go to From Tree to Trade.