Etymology traces back the word “coffee” to the Arabic word “qahwah” which interestingly enough, is said to have originally meant “wine” or “some kind of wine” (Kaye, 557). It’s Turkish form kahfeh reached Europe in 1600.
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee—coffee arabica is native to Ethiopia’s (southwestern?) highlands. Therefore the people of Ethiopia were the first to have recognized it’s energizing affects, by eating the coffee cherries. It was spread from Ethiopia to the Middle East by Sufi pioneers. Coffee has been called the ‘wine of Islam’ – the Sufi used coffee during spiritual rituals.
My favorite coffee drink, the mocha, originates from a specific variety of coffee arabica from Mocha, Yemen. Mocha was a major coffee marketplace from the 15th-18th centuries. The mocha variety of coffee was prized for it’s chocolate-like flavor, or terroir. Attempts were made to imitate the chocolate flavor, but the esteemed flavor came from the land of Yemen.
Specialty coffee emerged in 1990 — Primary initiator was Starbucks in Seattle, naming Seattle the capital of coffee culture. (Lyons)
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