Coffee is considered the second most valuable commodity in the world, topped only by oil. Within most towns and cities it is impossible to travel more than a block or so before seeing a coffee house or café. There is no doubt about it. Ever since Americans started drinking coffee in order to boycott British tea during the Revolutionary War, they have been addicted to coffee. Have you ever wondered where it came from?
Egyptian Roots
It is commonly believed that coffee berries were first discovered and consumed in Egypt. As the story goes, the shepherds were surprised to see the increased energy in their goats after eating the red berries from a certain bush. The people who tried them experienced the same feeling during their first caffeine high. The berries were harvested and used for a variety of drinks and foods including wine and protein packed energy bars made with animal fat.
Arabian Roast
A few hundred years later, the Arabians would decide to try roasting the seeds found inside the red berries, creating the first roasted coffee beans. This innovative thirteenth century beverage started to look like something that coffee drinkers today would recognize. For about three centuries, Arabia would hold a monopoly on coffee beans and plants, turning them into a successful cash crop.
European Expansion
In the early seventeenth century, some coffee plants were smuggled out of the Middle East. Soon, European coffee plants were springing up and explorers were spreading them across the world. By the end of the 1600s, coffee was a common drink around the globe, though more popular in some than others. Tea remained the hot morning beverage of choice in some areas, such as the British colonies in North America.
American Addiction
Though coffee may not have been popular in the US until the end of the eighteenth century, you would never know it now. After the war for independence was fought and won, coffee maintained its place in the hearts and mugs of Americans. Today, about 40% of American adults say they cannot get through their morning without it.
With coffee shops, home brewing, and a wide variety of flavors, coffee lovers are never far from their next cup. Charlotte coffee service Hav-a-Cup will even deliver it right to your door.
