Coffee, the fourth most widely consumed beverage on earth behind water, tea, and beer. It is however the only stimulant in the list. The origins of coffee remain shrouded in mystery. However, what we do know of were this wonderful bean came from is that is came from Ethiopia.
(this is Ethiopia)
Some of the original myths of how coffee was discovered include goats, birds, mystical wizards, and monasteries. Coffee made its way out of eastern Africa to the Arabian peninsula via modern day Yemen, then slowly through modern day Turkey, Iran and eventually the rest of the Muslim world. Eventually Venetian traders brought coffee from the Ottoman Empire to the Italian peninsula, at which point it became very popular with the local aristocracy. What ensued was a great debate over whether coffee was acceptable for consumption by Catholics. Eventually coffee was not banned by Pope Clement VIII and began to make its way throughout Europe being introduced into different royal courts.
(patron saint of coffee?)
The world suppliers of coffee would change hands many times. The Dutch were the first who truly cultivated coffee in a plantation style by teaming up with some native Indians to beat the Portuguese off of the subcontinent of India. As a reward the Dutch were given coffee trees that they took back to Amsterdam and began growing them in greenhouses. Eventually the trees also made it to the island of Java where the Dutch implemented plantation style growing and soon began supplying Europe with Java coffee.
(use this contraption called a french press)
As we all know coffee would soon come to the New World through Gabriel De Clieu who planted the newly arrived coffee trees at Martinique in 1720. Eventually coffee would flourish in the Western Hemisphere and dramatically change the course of history in some Western countries. It has been said that the terrible conditions on coffee plantations was a reason the Haitian revolution occurred.
(Gabriel De Clieu)
We can now enjoy more coffee then ever thanks to establishments like Starbucks, and all of your local coffee houses. Enjoy a cup iced or hot, black or mixed with all kinds of stuff in it.
That's all for today, thanks for reading.
Today's song of the day
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