The Accidental Buzz: How Coffee Was Discovered

keitaro tsuji
Oct 23
2 min read

It All Started with Some Very Energetic Goats

Long before Starbucks, pour-overs, or espresso shots… there was a goat.

Actually, a few goats — really hyper ones.

Legend says that around the 9th century in the Ethiopian highlands, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats acting weird. They were dancing, jumping, and refusing to sleep (sounds familiar?).

The culprit?

Some shiny red berries from a mysterious bush.

Kaldi, being curious (and maybe slightly jealous of his goats’ energy), tried the berries himself — and suddenly felt more awake than he ever had.

Congratulations, Kaldi — you just discovered caffeine.

From Goats to Monks: The First “Coffee Shop”

Kaldi brought the berries to a nearby monastery, thinking he’d found a miracle fruit.

The monks, being the cautious types, didn’t trust this new “energy berry.” So naturally, they threw it into the fire.

The aroma that came out of the roasting beans was heavenly.

Soon, the monks decided maybe burning it wasn’t such a bad idea — they crushed the roasted beans, mixed them with hot water, and voilà… the first cup of coffee was born.

Suddenly, those long nights of prayer became a lot easier to stay awake through.

Coffee Travels the World

From Ethiopia, coffee traveled across the Red Sea to Yemen, where it became part of Sufi rituals to stay alert during evening devotions.

By the 15th century, Yemen had the world’s first coffeehouses — places for conversation, music, and, of course, caffeine.

The drink then spread through the Middle East, to Europe, and eventually across the oceans to the Americas.

By the 1600s, coffee had replaced wine and beer as the “morning drink,” helping everyone pretend to be productive before 9 a.m.

Fun Fact: Coffee Was Once Banned (Multiple Times!)

Yes — coffee’s rise wasn’t smooth. Some rulers thought it made people too lively.

In Mecca, coffee was once banned for “encouraging radical thinking.”

In Italy, some priests called it “the devil’s drink” — until Pope Clement VIII tried it himself and said, “This devil’s drink is so delicious, we should baptize it.”

And just like that, coffee was blessed.