The 'popular' story about the origin of coffee speaks of a goatherder named Kaldi. Poor Kaldi's the Juan Valdez of the world coffee market today, and I don't believe there's any truth to the story:

"One day the young goatherder noticed that his goats were behaving strangely. The old buck had lost his dignity and was cavorting about like a young kid. The once goatly demeanor of the herd had vanished. Kaldi attributed the new attitude of his herd to the berries of a bush that the goats were gleefully eating." (The Dancing Goat rhetoric).

Then there's a version of the story that talks about religious wars. Kaldi's all upset and taking his life into his own hands decides to eat the 'berries': Duality of man, ultimate happiness or death. Finding out that in fact he didn't die, but had ingested a mild stimulant, suddenly his depression was gone.

Native to Ethiopia and Yemen is a shrub called 'qat'. I believe the story is of this plant, not coffee, as 'qat' is a narcotic, and much more popular in this time than was coffee.

So Kaldi finds a monk, and shows him the cherries. The monk boils the cherry, and then there's coffee. Then there's a commodities market and so on. Problem is that there's references to the cherry of the coffee tree being used for wine by monks long before reference to roasting and boiling the bean. And there's Arabic texts dating coffee to at least 400 B.C. While cute, the 'dancing goat' story is lore.

Popularity:

The coffea plant was found in Ethiopia and Yemen, it's native growing regions prior to 200 B.C. There's a good record of its use either as a stimulant, the way we drink it today, as a wine, popular outside the U.S., or possibly as a mixed fermented narcotic, dating from this time.

As will be discussed in processing, coffee has natural bacterias present until the roasting process occurs. Then brewed correctly, coffee will ferment and become a natural liquor in much the same way as wine is made. The popularity of the beverage from this era is from it's 'mixed' effects of the alcohol and the stimulatory effects of the naturally occurring caffeine, theophylline and other stimulants. Coffee was early on an experimental drug much in the same was coca leaves were used in South America.

Possession of coffee carried with it a penalty of death under Catholicism for a period of time. It was denounced as a drink of the devil in Europe, and there were public decrees against 'coffeehouses'. Obviously you want what you're not supposed to have.

Records date coffee's arrival in Europe to around 1600. Venetian trade routes brought coffee into the new world. Pope Clement VIII banned coffee as the devil's trick on his land. After being 'found out' as a major black market importer of coffee from Africa, he then 'tricked the devil' and baptized the drink, proclaiming that it should be drunk before each church attendance.

Coffeehouses spread as political hotbeds throughout Europe. King Charles II outlawed them, Grand Vizier Kuprili outlawed them, various Popes outlawed them. Coffee was considered a primary spice along with salt pepper cinnamon and cardamom during the European 'Spice Wars'. The 'Boston Tea Party' included coffee tariffs. In the late 1800's political mistrust caused many coffee people to flee Europe and settle in America, including the Diedrich coffee family.

Coffee can be traced to almost every written stimulant reference in history.

Coffee is grown as a commercial export agricultural crop by at least 50 countries. There are several species commercially available: Arabica, Robusta, Typica, Bourbon, Catuai, Acatu, and Catimor. There are genetic mutations of each of these, including the ever popular 'peaberry', a single round bean occurring in each cherry, and the 'maragogype' a hybrid that causes an exceptionally large single bean.

The discovery of the primitive need for 'escapism' dates alcohol, basic plant stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens from the same period. Man began to discover rudimentary chemistry, and 'need' arrived soon after.

Today, nicotine andcaffeine are both legal stimulants in the U.S. and play an important role in pop culture. Nicotine is seen as a 'bad habit' and should be something of which to be embarrassed of. Caffeine is acceptable, notably tasteful, and thus there can exist modern day a 'coffeehouse'.

Predating the 'prohibition' that caused the alcohol revolution, coffee was a questionable stimulant. Coffeehouses in America probably date with Martin Diedrich, founder of Diedrich Coffee. Defecting from Germany around the turn of the century, Martin Diedrich began an underground anti political movement in New York. Meetings were held in a basement of a downtown building. A password was required for entrance, and frequently police forces tried to find and raid locations of this and similar meeting places as they were seen as 'anti American government'.

Note the similarity between the early 90's 'underground' one night warehouse club (the birthright of the 'rave') and a turn of the century 'coffeehouse'. This was illegal stuff; all of which surrounded not a 'gourmet beverage' but a political ideology. The 'gourmet-ness' of the drink then was just a basic recipe fronting for a need that today we're all rushing to imitate. But the point wasn't the beverage itself, it was the drink, in the atmosphere that was significant.

Martin Diedrich enjoyed coffee. His family owned two plantations in Africa during the time, and coffee was his passion, political meetings his hobby. Serving something 'gourmet' during these meetings began the rather cover up term 'coffeehouse' in America, rather than 'overthrow the government house'. The name is derivative of a scam; in essence.

Prohibition proved a deciding factor for coffee, still legal. Many of the early brothel practices as well as drug traffic and early mobster activity moved to the coffeehouse. Acting as a front much as an alcohol bar was prior to prohibition, the new coffee bar became a solution to the problem.

Coffee on a 'taste index' in its most complex form has 117 recognizable taste qualities. A 'perfect' red wine has 137 recognizable taste qualities. Next in line is vanilla, with 96, and far below is chocolate, with a score of only 63. Coffee is the second most complex taste known. With this combination of the historical revolution and social disorder surrounding coffee, it's complex flavor, and stimulating quality, there is no wonder it holds such an important role in man's basic fourth need: escapism.

Much is made today about 'Arabicas' and thus they are the most readily available, however not always the best. Coffees are judged by quality, AAA typically the best, down to BB. This grading is used to trade coffee on the 'C' market however, and does not always lead to a good evaluation of specialty grade coffees, as they are always double or triple A grades. Coffees purchased by specialty importers, brokers, and roasters are cupped to judge their true character and flavor. Certain growing regions are trusted for their consistent crops, and these are the coffees that you see in most specialty coffeehouses.

These activities moved back to the bar after the abolishment of prohibition, yet the coffeehouse endured.

Political revolution was the main theme of the coffeehouse through the 50's and 60's, with many coffee bars appearing along the west coast.

Come 1973, the first Starbucks opens in Seattle, WA. Though it would be ten years until the growth spurt of the Starbucks regime begins, Starbucks marks another great point in the history of coffee. Suddenly, much like tattoos, coffee was no longer the product of revolutionaries, the 'underground' or the seedy side of American pop culture. Coffee entered the mainstream.