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Whether you call it java, mud or a shot in the arm, an estimated 2 billion cups are consumed every day around the world - making coffee the most popular drink in the world. Coffee today is produced in over 50 countries and is the second most valuable export after oil. And to many of us - it's simply what we need to get us started in the morning.
Coffee is older than most people think - archaeological evidence suggests that humans were enjoying the taste of the coffee berry around a hundred thousand years ago. One legend has it that a goat herder in Ethiopia observed his goats eating coffee berries and he decided to taste them himself - noting the stimulating effect. Shepherds consumed the coffee by grounding the beans and mixing them with animal fat.
By around 600 AD, the coffee bean had made its way to what is now the country of Yemen, where it has been cultivated ever since. From 1000 AD, Arabian traders grew and cultivated the coffee bean on plantations - they called their new concoction qahwa meaning "that which prevents sleep". Arabia controlled the coffee trade for many centuries as they introduced a law that prohibited the exporting of beans that could germinate.
Despite this restriction, the coffee bean somehow found its way throughout the Middle East - to Persia (now Iran), Egypt and parts of Northern Africa. Coffee beans also found their way to the Mysore area of India - where descendants of those original plants flourished until the early 20th century. In many cases, the beans were literally smuggled out of Arabia.
At first, coffee was not enjoyed for its taste, but more as a supplement or source of nutrition. When the coffee bean found its way to Turkey, the Turks began to drink it for its flavor - frequently adding such things as cinnamon or anise. The Turks were also the first to roast the beans over fires and boil the crushed beans in water. And what is generally considered to be the world's first coffee shop was opened in Istanbul - known as Constantinople at the time - in the 15th century.
The Dutch were the first to transport and cultivate coffee beans on a commercial basis. With coffee beans smuggled out of Arabia, they established plantations in Ceylon and one of their colonies - Java. Today, Indonesia is the world's third largest producer of coffee.
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