With exhausted teens regarding it as the key to late night studying and others enjoying it as a light beverage, coffee is widely recognized as an all-purpose drink. It can be found anywhere; from canned cold brews in 7-11s to the globally acclaimed Starbucks, one only has to turn around a corner to see a store selling coffee. However, not everyone knows the origin of this revered drink—it begins in Ethiopia.
This is the most famous legend—Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder, once wandered into a forest with his faithful herd, and the goats ingested some coffee berries. However, a strange phenomenon occurred. The animals became so lively that when night came, they could not fall asleep. This was… unusual. Perhaps it had something to do with the red berries? Curious, Kaldi chose to consume the berries himself and found himself unusually energized.
Later, encountering a monk, Kaldi told him his story. The monk inevitably tasted the berries himself, and finding that Kaldi’s claims were true, he spread the story of the mysterious berries.
A lesser-known myth is that of Omar, a healer hailing from Mocha, Yemen (yes, mocha coffee does come from there). For unknown reasons, Omar was exiled from his home. Forced to wander and wander, he eventually ended up alone and hungry. No, more than that… he was starving. Yet there was hope, as Omar spotted red berries on a nearby tree. He reached out and grabbed them. Chewing one, he found it too bitter. No, that wouldn’t do. Would roasting the berries improve their flavor, perhaps? Unfortunately, that only hardened the berries. Omar then chose to boil these roasted berries, but curiously enough, the water became brown! When he drank this fragrant liquid, he was revitalized. After his former people heard of his miracle healing, Omar was welcomed home.
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