Goats and coffee

 

Goats and coffee

                                        Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Coffee is grown across the world but has its origins in Ethiopia. Barry was telling me this morning about the dancing goats that devoured the berries of the coffee bush and were so energised that they could not, would not sleep.

 At least, that is the legend of the 9^th century goatherd, Kaldi, who observed the antics of his goats after they had consumed the berries of a tree unknown to him. He was so impressed that he tried them for himself and experienced the energy they gave him, though he disliked the taste.

‘Kaldi Coffee’ and ‘Dancing Goat’ are popular names worldwide for coffee shops and companies.

Kaldi watched as the goats in his herd ate the small red ‘olives’ and then kicked up their heels with apparent joy and enthusiasm. He wanted to find out what caused such behaviour and took some of the berries to the local monastery. The Abbot, declaring them to be the Devil’s work, threw them on the fire, which caused the berries to release their delectable aroma. The monks rescued them and put them in water and shared the liquid, receiving the benison of the concoction.

                                         Coffee beans ripening

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The growing and consumption of coffee became popular throughout the Islamic world and the Arabs tried unsuccessfully to control the spread of the shrubs. In the 17^th century, a coffee plantation was established in India and soon beans were transported by sailors, merchants and travellers to far-flung lands, like Central and Southern America, Hawaii and East Africa.

Coffee is now grown in such diverse places as Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

In Italy, in the 16^th century, Pope Clement VIII, was begged by the clergy to ban the drink of the ‘infidels’, but he tasted it and liked it. Some say that he banned it in public, but drank it in private, ‘baptising’ it to make it holy.

King Charles II despised it because all classes of people gathered in the coffee houses to drink it and talk between them might lead to insurrection. His sanctions were soon dropped when there was a great outcry against the ban.

The London Stock Exchange, Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses and Lloyds of London all had their humble beginnings from meetings in coffee houses.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world and is produced in more than 50 countries. The two largest coffee growers are Brazil and Vietnam, and the two heaviest consumers are Finland and Sweden, each drinking more than 10 kg per person.