Behind a cup of coffee lies a history of transmission spanning four continents: Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. From the legend of the shepherd in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia in the 6th century AD, to the herb and beverage of the Arab world, to the rise of European coffeehouses, the replacement of tea after the Boston Tea Party in North America, and the global expansion of coffee cultivation during the colonial era, coffee has traveled a long journey. Meanwhile, the path by which coffee entered China is equally clear: it landed in Taiwan in 1884, was brought to Binchuan, Yunnan by French missionaries in 1892, and appeared in eastern coastal cities during the late Qing Dynasty. This article will sort through these key time points and geographical routes, while retaining product information from the Front Street Coffee brand, to help coffee enthusiasts build a complete framework of historical understanding.

Origin:

Coffee was first discovered in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia in the 6th century AD. Regarding the origin of coffee, there is still no definitive historical record to verify it; only several different legends have been passed down, among which the more widely accepted is the story of the shepherd Kaldi discovering coffee. Legend has it that in Kaffa Province in southern Ethiopia, there was a shepherd named Kaldi who drove his flock out to graze every day. One day, he found his flock suddenly acting strangely; the normally docile and obedient sheep were all full of energy, lively and jumping about. Kaldi was puzzled, and later discovered that the flock had eaten a kind of red fruit, so he picked a few and tasted them too. At once he felt his fatigue greatly reduced, his energy doubled, and his mood lifted as well.

Kaldi brought this unknown fruit to a nearby monastery and gave it to an experienced elder. After tasting it, the elder also felt that this fruit had a clear effect of refreshing the mind and lifting the spirits, so he ordered people to boil the fruit into a soup and give it to the monks who chanted scriptures at night. In this way, it unexpectedly solved the problem of the monks dozing off and feeling sleepy while reciting scriptures at night, and this magical red fruit began to spread. Because it was first discovered in the Kaffa region, the locals called it kaffa; later, when it spread to the Arab world, it was called kawha, and when it spread to Europe, it was translated into English as coffee... Initially, in Ethiopia itself, people were accustomed to boiling coffee fruit into soup to drink, or mixing coffee seeds with animal fat to stave off hunger. To this day, Ethiopia not only retains a large number of wild coffee tree species—even farm households have coffee trees planted in their courtyards—but also preserves the most primitive method of brewing coffee with a long-necked pot.

Spread to the Arab world:

In 525 AD, Ethiopian troops invaded Yemen, and coffee beans were also carried by soldiers to the Yemen region. According to records, coffee trees began to be cultivated in the Yemen region in 575 AD. Later, coffee beans were also brought to Egypt by Sudanese black slaves transported there. After coffee spread to the Arab world, it was initially used by Arabs as a herb to treat migraines and promote digestion. Later, the Arabs invented the method of roasting coffee beans to make a coffee beverage. This beverage conquered the taste buds of the Arabs with its unique aroma and rich flavor, and the Islamic prohibition of alcohol at the time also helped promote the spread of coffee. Coffee was called by the Arabs "the drink given by Allah." According to records, coffeehouses had already appeared in Damascus, Mecca, and other places in the 15th century. After the Ottoman Turkish Empire conquered the Arab world, it even developed coffee into a "national drink" and also developed coffee etiquette and mysterious coffee divination that have been passed down to this day. Before the 16th century, coffee was regarded as a very precious beverage in the Arab world, and the Arabs, especially Yemen, where coffee was grown, monopolized coffee production and strictly prohibited coffee seeds and seedlings from flowing out.

Spread to Europe:

The Ottoman Turkish Empire in the 16th century was the center of trade between East and West, and coffee, this mysterious beverage, naturally attracted the attention of merchants from both East and West. They not only developed the habit of drinking coffee themselves, but also wanted to bring this precious beverage back to their own countries. As early as the end of the 16th century, merchants in Venice, Marseille, and London had already begun secretly bringing small amounts of coffee beans back to their countries and entertaining friends at home with coffee.

In 1616, Venetian merchants formally imported a bag of coffee beans into Italy for the first time. What Europeans coveted even more were coffee seeds and seedlings. In 1615, the Dutch secretly shipped a coffee seedling out of the port of Mocha, transported it to the Netherlands, and planted it in a greenhouse. After coffee, this "fashionable" and "mysterious" beverage from the "Eastern Ottoman Empire," entered Europe, it was quickly accepted by Europeans, and a number of coffeehouses emerged as the times required. In coffeehouses, people could drink coffee while gathering together to discuss current affairs, politics, and various topics. In addition, coffeehouses also became gathering places for some literati and artists. Coffee quickly spread throughout Europe and penetrated deeply into people's lives.

Spread to North America:

The earliest record of coffee in North America is probably from 1668. At the end of the 17th century, tea, cocoa, and coffee were introduced to North America during the same period, and initially tea drinking was more popular. After the famous Boston Tea Party in 1773, coffee naturally replaced tea as the main beverage.

Large-scale worldwide spread:

The widespread popularity of coffee in Europe also brought some problems. Large imports of coffee beans caused substantial foreign exchange losses, and in addition, the freedom of speech in coffeehouses posed a threat to the rule of the authorities. At that time, rulers of various European countries first adopted the method of "cutting expenditure" by closing coffeehouses and prohibiting people from drinking coffee. But coffee and coffeehouses had already become a trend and could not be repeatedly suppressed, so "broadening sources" became the choice more in line with the situation. However, the climate of the European continent was not suitable for coffee cultivation, so the European empires in the period of colonial expansion began to target their colonies and opened up coffee production areas in the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Spread to Asia:

The coffee seedlings transported by the Dutch to the Netherlands in 1616 could not be cultivated on a large scale because they could not adapt to the severe cold climate of the north. Therefore, the Dutch transplanted them to Ceylon in 1696 and to Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1699. Indonesia became the first country in Asia to produce coffee on a large scale.

As the birthplace of Islam, Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, as holy cities of Islam, also attracted large numbers of Eastern Muslims to make pilgrimages. These pilgrims also had the opportunity to taste coffee in Arabia and repeatedly tried to bring it out of the Arab world. As early as the 17th century, the Indian Muslim Baba Budan, while on a pilgrimage to Mecca, secretly brought seven coffee beans out of Yemen and transported them to southern India, and coffee was introduced to India.

Spread to Central and South America:

In the 1820s, French naval officer de Clieu transported a coffee seedling to Martinique in Central America, and the coffee seedlings of Martinique were then spread to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and other Central American island countries.

At the same time, the British spread coffee seedlings to Cuba and Jamaica.

Coffee was also cultivated on a large scale in French Guiana, Suriname, Haiti, and other countries.

Spain carried out coffee cultivation in its possessions such as Colombia and Peru.

Coffee seedlings were then spread from French Guiana to Brazil. Brazil's coffee industry rose rapidly and by the early 20th century had become the world's largest producing country.

Spread to Africa:

At the end of the 19th century, Britain widely planted coffee in its African colonies. In 1893, the coffee industry in Kenya, Ethiopia's neighboring country, began to develop and quickly grew into a producer of high-quality coffee.

Spread to Hawaii:

In 1825, coffee was spread to the Hawaiian Islands.

Spread to Australia:

Coffee was first introduced to Australia in the 1880s.

At this point, with Brazil as the leader and bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, running across the globe from east to west and stretching across the four continents of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia, the map of coffee cultivation was formed.

The spread of coffee in China:

In 1884, the British first brought coffee to Taiwan, and Taiwan began to cultivate coffee. During the Japanese occupation period, coffee became popular in Taiwan.

In 1892, French missionaries brought coffee from Vietnam to Binchuan County in Yunnan, which is the earliest record of coffee cultivation in mainland China. At present, coffee cultivation in China is mainly concentrated in parts of Yunnan and Hainan.

As for the history of coffee drinking in China, it can be traced back at least to the late Qing Dynasty. With the opening of the country's doors, coffee began to appear in eastern coastal cities. There are records of coffee in late Qing poetry, such as the zhuzhici popular in Shanghai at the time, "Coffee": What is coffee, that all call it by name? In the market it is said to be made from beans. Its color resembles brown sugar, sweet with bitterness; Westerners cook it as tea with every meal. In the 1920s and 1930s, some coffeehouses had already appeared in old Shanghai and old Kunming. At the beginning of the founding of New China, coffee and coffeehouses temporarily disappeared. After reform and opening up, coffee made a comeback. From the 1980s, brands such as Nestlé entered China, and "instant coffee" became synonymous with coffee. In the 21st century, the expansion of some domestic and international chain coffeehouses in China, and the fact that star-rated hotels also successively introduced coffee as an important beverage, further promoted the development of the domestic coffee industry. However, as a traditional tea-drinking country, the quality of coffee in China is still uneven, and no local coffee culture has yet been formed. All of this remains to be further developed.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.