History of Coffee
All that is known for sure is that the wild coffee plant was first found in Ethiopia
more than a thousand years ago.
Coffee and the Legend of the Dancing Goats
According to legend, coffee was first discovered when an Arabian goatherd, called kaldi,
noticed his goats were unusually excited and energetic, a great contrast to their usual
behaviour. Kaldi was curious as to the reason for all this activity and went to investigate.
He found that they had been eating a strange bush, which was covered in red berries. He asked
the Abbot of a local monastery about this, who then took a few of the berries and began to
experiment. The Abbot roasted the kernels of the berries until they were dark brown, pounded
them in his mortar, poured on boiling water and invited some of the other monks to join him
for a drink.
After consuming the liquid the monks felt more alert and that night were able to carry
out their long session of prayers without feeling drowsy. The legend claims that this
is how the virtues of coffee were first recognised.
Coffee and African warriors
In the ninth century, African warriors used coffee as food to take advantage of its
sustaining properties. They crushed roasted coffee between stones, mixed it with
grease and formed it into balls about the size of a snooker ball. One of these
provided a day's ration for a native warrior.
Growth of Coffee Drinking
In the 14th century, coffee drinking began in Arab countries where the coffee plant
grew wild and where alcohol was forbidden to the followers of Islam. Coffee as a
beverage gradually spread from Ethiopia to many parts of the Near East. The Moslems
welcomed it as a substitute for the forbidden alcohol. Hence, coffee became known as
"the Wine of Araby". Because of the caravan trade routes, by the middle of the 16th
century coffee had spread to Egypt, Syria, Greece and Turkey.
At the end of the 17th century, large quantities of coffee were left behind by the
Turkish army after their siege of Vienna, and it was in this way that Europeans were
introduced to what would become the second largest commodity in international trade.
London's Coffee Houses
The first coffee houses opened in London in the 17th century, and these became meeting
places for businessmen, artists, and scholars. It is reported that Lloyds of London
and the Stock Exchange were born out of these meeting places.
Pumphreys of Newcastle
From the 18th century to the present day, Pumphreys has gradually evolved from a grocery
business in the Flesh Market, Newcastle upon Tyne, to a coffee roaster and supplier of
freshly roasted coffees and speciality teas. You can now purchase the world's finest
coffees from Pumphreys online store or visit our factory shop at Market Street, Blaydon,
Newcastle upon Tyne.