It is thought that the coffee tree originated in the Province of Kaffa, known today as Ethiopia. It was first discovered that a rich and stimulating brew could be made from the bean.

Commercial cultivation followed and by the 16th century coffee was being grown Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.

The first coffee houses were opened in Mecca where coffee drinking was initially encouraged and quickly spread throughout the Arab world.

Plant cuttings were eventually smuggled out of Arabia and cultivated in India and Java.

Venetian traders first bought coffee to Europe in 1615. The local clergy bitterly opposed coffee as a beverage, however after Pope Clement VIII’s intervention coffee was given Papal approval.

Thirty years later the first coffee house or ‘cafe’ was opened in Venice. During the 17^th century the popularity of coffee houses spread throughout Europe. In 1651 Britain’s first coffee house opened in Oxford and by 1700 there were approximately 300 coffee houses in London.

In 1727 coffee was introduced to Brazil which is now one of the world’s most recognised coffee producers.

The last 300 years have seen coffee become one of the most valuable primary commodities in the world and one of the most popular beverages in the world.

 Anyone for Coffee!