Coffee was discovered around
500 AD in Ethiopia.
For the first 1000 years, the leaves
and stems of the coffee bush were ground and eaten or boiled in
water. The removal of the coffee bean from it’s skin to be
roasted and ground for a drink did not occur until around 1500.
Common names used for coffee beans,
such as Java & Mocha, originally derived from the ports used
for shipping the beans out of a region. Most of these original ports
no longer exist, yet, the coffee names are still used.
Coffee is one of the world’s
most valuable commodities, second only to oil.
Women were not allowed in the early
coffeehouses in Britain or America unless she was the proprietor. |