06/11/2026
Origin stories about Coffee you didn’t know!
1. Coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian Monk
Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder, wandered over to his goats to see them acting very strangely. They were energised and excited after eating some berries from a tree. So, he tried the berries himself, and took these berries to a monk. The monks exclaimed that it was the work of the devil and threw the berries into the fire. In doing so, a beautiful aroma was released and the berries were quickly raked from the fire and crushed into embers. The monks then placed the berries into a jug and covered them with hot water for preservation. The monks went on to drink this lovely new concoction, only to realise it helped them stay awake during nightly devotions and prayers.
2. Decaf coffee was discovered on a sea ship
The first commercially successful decaffeination process was invented by German merchant Ludwig Roselius and co-workers in 1903, after Roselius observed that a consignment of coffee beans accidentally soaked in sea water had lost most of their caffeine content while losing little of their flavour.
3. Coffee was smuggled into Brazil
The first coffee bush in Brazil was planted by Francisco de Melo Palheta in Pará in 1727. Palheta was sent to French Guiana on a diplomatic mission to resolve a border dispute. On his way back home, he managed to smuggle the seeds into Brazil by seducing the governor’s wife who secretly gave him a bouquet spiked with seeds
