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Historical
beginnings are always hard to pin down. In the absence
of historical records, legends and folk tales must
suffice to fill in the earliest details. This is
certainly true in the case of coffee. In fact, coffee
has been so popular throughout its history that it has
inspired and sustained more than one legend about its
origin.
Certainly the
most charming is the Arabian
legend of Kaldi the Yemenite goatherd. Around the year
750 CE, so the story goes, Kaldi was surprised to see
his goats prancing madly in the grazing field after
nibbling on the wild berries of a wild plant.
Surprised at its strange effect on his animals, he tried
a few berries himself and felt very good. He rushed to
tell his friends about his discovery and that supposedly
is how the coffee was first discovered.
While the true
origins of coffee drinking may be forever hidden among
the mysteries of Arabia, shrouded as it is in legend and
fable, scholars have managed to collect enough facts to
prove that coffee beans were known in Abyssinia from
times immemorial, and from there it was introduced into
Yemen, where it flourished. Coffee comes from the seeds
or "beans" of an evergreen shrub that grows up to thirty
feet in height. The coffee tree requires a hot, moist
climate, with lots of water and a rich soil in order to
grow well. It is said that the early Abyssinians, in
order to discover the rich flavor of coffee did not use
it as a beverage, but ate the berries after crushing
them and molding it with fat into a ball, during long
journeys and in the battlefield!
The coffee drink
was first mentioned by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya
al-Razi (850-922 CE) in his treatise on medicine. Razi
was the first person to classify its use in an
encyclopedic manner and mentioned coffee under the name
"bunchum." Other researchers on this subject add that
the Arabs knew about coffee as early as the sixth
century. Ibn Sina (980-1037 CE), the well-known Muslim
physician and scholar, explains the medicinal properties
and the uses of coffee beans, which he calls "bunchum"
after the fashion of Imam Razi. Bengiazlah, another
great physician, and a contemporary of Ibn Sina,
likewise mentions the merits of coffee in his writings.
Antoine Galland (1646-1715), the French Orientalist
tracing the early origins of coffee, writes, "We are
indebted to these great physicians for introducing
coffee to the modern world through their writings, as
well as the sugar, tea, and chocolate."
The coffee drink
got a boost when Sheikh Jamaluddin Abu Muhammad bin
Said, the Grand Mufti of Aden became acquainted with the
use of coffee, while on a journey to Abyssinia in 1454,
along with its medicinal properties. He sanctioned its
use among the devout Muslims, so that they could spend
their night in prayers with more attention and presence
of mind. He was assisted in his work of spreading the
gospel of coffee by Muhammad al-Hadhrami, a physician of
repute from Hadhramaut, Yemen. Coffee, thus being
favorably introduced in Yemen, has continued to be in
use there ever since without interruption.
At that time, the
Yemenites used to chew
the coffee cherries (or beans) to stay awake trough
their nightly prayers.
The endorsement
from the learned Imam was sufficient to start a trend in
Yemen and from there to the far corners of the Muslim
world. About 1510, coffee was being widely used in the
Yemeni Quarters of Cairo by worshippers in the mosques
to spend their nights in religious devotion. It is also
recorded that by the close of the fifteenth century
(1470-1500 CE), coffee had reached the Holy Cities of
Makkah and Madinah. The residents of Makkah had become
so fond of the drink that disregarding its religious
associations turned it into a secular drink to be sipped
publicly in Qahwa Khanes, where people began to gather
to discuss news and other business matters. At the same
time coffee houses became popular in the City of Madinah
also.
About this time
(1511 CE) Khair Bey was acting as the Governor of Makkah
on behalf of the Sultan of Egypt. It is said that he was
a strict disciplinarian and was unfortunately unaware
about the widespread use of coffee among the residents
of Makkah. As he was leaving the mosque one night after
prayers, he noticed a group of people preparing to drink
coffee to pass their nights in prayers. His first
thought was that they were drinking wine, and was
astonished to learn about coffee and its widespread use
in the City of Makkah. After driving the worshippers
away from the mosque, he decided to conduct an
investigation about the use of coffee as a drink, which
could incline men and women towards extravagance that
was prohibited by the law.
The next day he
called a meeting of all the leading citizens of Makkah
to debate the use of coffee as a drink. Some among the
council spoke in its favor, whereas, a majority among
them carried away by prejudice and misguided zeal sought
a complete ban on drinking of coffee. Acting on the
advice of the council the governor solemnly condemned
the use of coffee, and a decree was drawn up to shut
down the coffee houses, and got it signed by the
majority of those present, and had it dispatched to the
Sultan at Cairo for his ratification.
However, the
triumph of the enemies of coffee was short-lived; for
not only did the Sultan disapprove of the "indiscreet
zeal" of the Governor of Makkah, but also ordered the
edict against the coffee houses lifted with immediate
effect. How dare he condemn a drink that was approved by
the learned physicians in Cairo whose opinions carried
more weight than those at Makkah, and who had found
nothing wrong against the law in the use of coffee?
Khair Bey was shocked into submission on receiving such
a rebuke from the Sultan. The prohibition against coffee
houses was immediately lifted. Coffee, being thus,
reestablished at Makkah met with no opposition and since
then the use of coffee has continued both in homes and
coffee houses by the people of Makkah.
One of the most
interesting facts in the history of coffee drinking is
that wherever it was introduced, it had spelled
revolution. It has been one of the world's most radical
drinks in that its function has always been to make
people think. And, when people begin to think, they
become dangerous to tyrants, and to foes of liberty of
thought and action. Attempts were made time and again to
ban the coffee houses from Cairo to Constantinople as
houses of sedition. Nonetheless, the use of coffee
continued on its onward march to different parts of the
Muslim world.
Selim I after
conquering Egypt introduced coffee to Constantinople.
The drink was popular in Syria by 1530 and in Aleppo by
1532. Several coffee houses sprang up in Damascus and
other cities of the Muslim Empire. Some of the earliest
coffee houses set up were provided with all furnishings
and comforts. Furthermore, they provided a free ground
for social intercourse, discourse, and free discussion.
Lawyers, students, as well as desert travelers who
journeyed at night to escape the heat of the day started
drinking coffee. For the artisans, goldsmiths, craftsmen
and ordinary workmen who worked late into the night,
coffee became the most sought after beverage. People
high and low in the social strata took to drinking
coffee with great enthusiasm. Coffee houses increased in
number to meet the demand. Soon, the demand outstripped
its supply. At this time, the popularity of coffee has
increased to such an extent that it became a legitimate
ground for divorce among Turks for refusing to allow
their wives to drink coffee!
The Arabs in
Yemen were cultivating coffee trees since ages and their
caravans dominated trade in Qahwa until the Ottoman
Turks captured Yemen in the year 1536, and soon
dominated the coffee trade and looked upon coffee as an
important commodity for export to different parts of the
world. The beans that were exported from the port of
Mocha took the name of the port, and became a major
source of earning revenue. The Turks jealously guarded
their monopoly over the trade and no fertile berries
were allowed to leave the country unless they first had
been steeped in boiling water or partially roasted to
prevent germination. Inevitably, Baba Budan, a Muslim
Pilgrim from South India thwarted these security
precautions during his Hajj in the 1600's, and managed
to bring in a few seeds that were successfully
cultivated in the hills of Chikamagalur in the Old
Mysore State, from where its cultivation spread to
different parts of the world.
Europeans were at
first suspicious about this new beverage from Turkey
terming it as an "infidel drink!" But, when Pope Clement
VIII tasted the first cup of coffee and liked it, the
drink got the seal of approval of all Christians. By
1652, coffee houses were set up all over England, and
became centers of political, social, and literary
thought and discussion. Coffee houses became popular in
America in the 1770's when the King of England levied an
unfair tax on tea, which infuriated the colonists to
such an extent that they dressed up as Red Indians
dumped a whole shipment of British Tea into the Boston
Harbor and quickly replaced it with coffee as the
favorite new beverage of the Americans.
Today, a third of
the world's people drink coffee regularly, and now it
has become the number one beverage across the world
because of its universal appeal. All nations do it
homage. It has become recognized as a human necessity
and each country seems to have its own way of drinking
it. Americans love their coffee with milk and sugar. The
French prefer cafi au lait, which is a mixture of
equal amount of coffee and warm milk. Other Europeans
take espresso-strong black coffee that is said to
perk up the drinker. Cappuccino, favored by
Italians is spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon, while the
Viennese coffee has a large dollop of whipped cream on
top. In summer time Americans drink iced coffee, while
others try out coffee ice cream and coffee-flavored
chocolates. Brazil is known as a nation of coffee
addicts. Coffee made in Mocha and Java were once the
most sought after coffee brands in the world.
In the Arab
world, coffee is the hallmark of Middle-Eastern
hospitality today, as it has been when it was discovered
centuries ago. According to an Arab tradition, "One's
guests deserve the very best," and that, without a doubt
means coffee. Whether in Cairo or Istanbul, or among the
Bedouins of the Arabian deserts, coffee is brewed as
soon as the guests arrive. In the land of Arabia,
Qahwa Arabiyah, green Arab coffee, unsweetened, but
flavored with cardamom and saffron, is served with great
decorum with ripe dates, the oldest and most respected
among the guests receiving the first syrup-thick
thimbleful glass of steaming, frothy brew. Among the
poorer Arabs the coffee ceremony holds even greater
significance and it is enjoyed on every occasion that
calls for a celebration with its preparation varying in
different provinces and countries with additions of
number of spices in the brew to give it a distinctive
flavor and a pleasant aroma. Among the Bedouin Arabs
there is a saying, "He makes coffee from morning till
night," to describe a generous man, and it is said no
greater praise can be given to honor an Arab.
What is it about
coffee that people like so much? Coffee contains an
alkaloid called caffeine, which acts as a powerful
stimulant to the brain and perks up a person, causing a
two-fold effect - the pleasurable sensation that it
brings to the body and the increased efficiency that it
produces in a person's capacity to do work. The caffeol
in the coffee supplies the flavor and the aroma, and a
number of other caffetannic acids that gives the
beverage its rare tasty appeal. Recent researches show
that coffee helps as a medicine to fight cancer and keep
Parkinson's disease at bay. Other studies have proved
that it acts as a cure for heart ailments. Major studies
conducted on coffee show that it significantly reduces
Type-2 diabetes risk and is also known for treating
asthmatic patients, migraine, and certain allergic
disorders.
So, the next time
when you sit down to relax with a cup of coffee with
your friends you can tell them to thank the Arabs for
giving them their favorite drink! |
