The legend about coffee
According to archaeologists conducting research in Africa, the Coffea plant fruit were used in Ethiopia as early as the first millennium BC. They were served cooked with butter and salt. However, the Coffea plant was not a cultivated plant and its fruits were harvested from natural sites.
There are legends about the discovery of the properties of coffee beans in circulation…
The first of the legends about the the discovery of the properties of coffee beans tells the story of how Shaikh ash-Shadhili saw a herd of goats during his journey through Africa. They seemed to be extremely excited and energetic to him. He tried the fruits eaten by them and discovered that they also had a stimulating effect on him.
The second legend about the discovery of the properties of coffee beans tells the story of a young goat shepherd from Ethiopia. Kaldi’s goats were so full of energy that they did not feel fatigue, running and making noise all the time. They didn’t even fall asleep at night, and as a result he couldn’t sleep as well. Tired of such behavior, he found the herd to be possessed by evil powers. So he went to a Yemeni monastery to ask for help. The priests noticed that there was a close link between the goats’ consumption of the coffee plant’s fruit and their behavior. They decided to try the power of these fruit themselves. They were exceptionally unsavory, so with disgust they threw the beans into the fire. After a while, an intense and pleasant aroma came from the furnace. The curious monks took the burned coffee beans out of the fire and threw them into boiling water. The stimulant drink thus obtained had not only a very pleasant smell, but also proved to be suitable for drinking. The monks treated coffee as a gift coming directly from God, because thanks to it they could spend long hours in prayer and did not feel fatigue or lassitude. They ordered the shepherd to change the grazing area of the animals to keep them away from the energizing plants.
Another legend says that coffee was discovered by the Arab monk Ali Ben Omar, who cured many sick people in a certain town, including the local ruler’s daughter. The poor monk fell in love with the princess, but the king had no intention of giving him his daughter’s hand and expelled him from the city. The love-sick young man prayed to Allah asking for help so warmly that he was finally heard. One day an angel appeared to Omar, who sent him a beautiful, colorful bird. The bird led the monk until he came across a bush with red fruit. It was the Coffea plant. The inspired Ali gathered the fruit, brewed it and gave it to pilgrims coming to the city to try. The wanderers, delighted by the energy-boosting properties of the brew, spread the news of a magic drink. The information about this came to the king’s court, who ordered to bring Ali to the city. In exchange for the secret of how to brew the magic drink, the ruler gave him his daughter.