Why Did Coffee Become A Popular Beverage Worldwide?

There are a couple of legends around how coffee was discovered. However, it’s not quite clear about exactly when and how coffee was discovered.

Janko Ferlič / Via unsplash.com

A series of historical events contributed to the popularity of the beverage. Today, more than 2.3 billion cups of coffee are consumed on a single day. How did we get here? In this article, we’ll have a look at the events that made coffee a global beverage as we know it but before that, let’s see why coffee is so popular.

Why exactly is Coffee so Popular?

Here are some contributing factors to coffee’s popularity:

1. Coffee was accepted by most religions since its discovery making it an alternative wherever alcohol was prohibited

2. Production was kept high from the beginning to make sure that all the demand for it was met and more importantly, at low prices

3. The caffeine in coffee keeps the mind fresh and awake; caffeine causes an addiction just like nicotine

4. Coffee has a beautiful and irresistible aroma liquid

5. Coffee shops are all over the place. The Commercial Coffee Machines Industry is booming and there is so much choice

The Histological events …

• Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia by Kaldi, a goad herder in the 500s

• In 525 AD coffee arrived in Yemen

• In the 700s coffee gained popularity around the red sea

• In 800 AD coffee started being traded

• Arab traders took coffee back home in 1000AD and started cultivating it.

• In 1000AD, the seed and skin were removed from the berry for commercial purposes

• Coffee was also administered as a medicine by Arab physicians

• In 1200s coffee arrived in Turkey and they discovered that roasting coffee enhanced the flavor

• Commercial plantations became extensive in Yemen in the 1400s

• The first coffee shop was opened in 1475 in Istanbul. From here, coffee began its commercialization journey

• Coffee started being sold in Europe from the ports of Alexandria and Smyrna in the 1500s. By then coffee was already being consumed in parts of Egypt, Persia, Syria, and Turkey.

• The pope made coffee acceptable for Christians in the 1600s

• Cultivation in India was pioneered by Baba Budan, a Muslim pilgrim who sneaked the seeds in from Arabia

• The first coffeehouse was opened in England in 1652

• In 1669, France adopted it

• The Dutch cultivated it commercially starting 1690

• In 1714 a plantation was established in the Caribbean; this plantation eventually became the source for 90% of the world’s plantations

• In 1773 most Americans switched from drinking Tea to coffee

• In the 1800s, Brazil’s coffee plantations expanded leading to a drop in coffee prices

• Instant coffee was invented in 1906 by a Chemist from Guatemala, George Constant Washington

• Coffee was prohibited in the US in the 1920s. This sort of promoted its sales and consumption

• The first automatic espresso machine was developed in 1933 by Dr. Ernest

• In 1938 Nescafe developed instant coffee to solve the surplus problem

• America exports its coffee drinking culture to other parts of the world between 1927 – 1945

• In 1971 Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle

• The advent of the TV was a great opportunity which saw many coffee ads make it on air