Coffee beans go out of Africa and into the world

I was a tree, an ordinary tree, growing with my companions in the mountains of a region called Kafa in southern Ethiopia. I do not know when my ancestors, how to take root and reproduce in this land, and these I do not need to think about, I just bathe in the sun and rain with my companions every day, blossom and bear fruit as usual every year, experience a spring, summer, autumn and winter, no one knows what my name is.

Until one day, probably in the sixth century AD according to human records, that afternoon the shepherd boy named Kadi drove his sheep to the hillside where we grew. The afternoon sun shone on my red fruit, shining brightly and attractively. The hungry sheep ate our fruit. Wow! Perhaps our fruit is too delicious, perhaps our fruit contains the kind of thing called caffeine to inject vitality into the sheep, they are happy to dance, abnormal excitement. The shepherd boy Cuddy also noticed the abnormality of the sheep, followed the sheep's tracks, found us, and for the first time he found this exciting red fruit like cherries, so he picked some for the elders of the monastery. The elder also found that our fruit had an unusual refreshing effect. The elder, who had been worried about the problem of monks reciting scriptures and dozing off at night, suddenly understood, so he ordered people to pick a lot of fruit and boil it into soup for the monks of the monastery to drink. Huh? Monks who drink this magic soup really can not doze off, the spirit of chanting late into the night! Since then, humans have known us, because they found us in an area called Kafa, so they simply called us "kaffa", but in the later continuous circulation, our name has many new changes, in Arabia called calva, spread to Europe called café in France, caffe in Italy, kaffee in Germany, coffee in Britain, and later spread to Asia called Jia in Japan, called in Korea, coffee in China... Of course, this is a later story. We'll talk about it later.

After we were discovered in Ethiopia, we were not very popular at first, because we can be seen everywhere in Ethiopia. We have strong vitality. Until now, many of us still grow wild in the mountains of Ethiopia. With the invasion of Yemen by Ethiopian troops in the 5th century AD, we were carried across the Red Sea to Yemen with the army. The war was over, the army was gone, and we were planted in this new land. Gradually, our refreshing function was known to more Arabs. It is said that Muhammad was once given this drink called coffee by Allah in his dream. After drinking it, his strength increased greatly. In addition, we emitted the attractive aroma when brewing. Therefore, the Arab world that does not drink alcohol regarded us as "the drink given by Allah", while the powerful kingdom of Yemen also monopolized our planting and production and strictly controlled the output of coffee beans to us. All coffee beans are cooked before they are allowed to be exported. Although many Europeans and Asians have long coveted this delicious drink, there is no way.

It wasn't until the 17th-century Indian Baba Bhavan stuck seven coffee beans to his belly on a pilgrimage to Mecca that we were able to get away with it, and we were able to grow in India. It was the Dutch who really took us to a newer and larger world: in 1615 they smuggled a sapling out of Mocha, Yemen, to Holland itself, where it was successfully planted, and then they transplanted it to Sri Lanka and Indonesia in 1699, which is when we have our own home in Asia.

Not only the Dutch, but also the shrewd French, English, and Spanish knew our value, but the climate conditions in Europe were not suitable for us to grow, so they strengthened their control over us through their colonies.

The Dutch successfully developed Indonesian coffee, which became the world famous "Java coffee" at that time.

The French also contributed. A coffee sapling given to King Louis XIV of France by Amsterdam of the Netherlands as a gift was carefully raised in the palace garden by Louis XIV, but stolen by naval officer Derek. In 1823, it was transported to Martinique Island in the Central American Caribbean Sea after thousands of difficulties. This coffee tree became the ancestor of our Central American compatriots. From Martinique Island, our shadow spread all over the Central American Caribbean Sea, including Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico. Dominica... Brazil, the largest coffee-producing country, owes half of its credit to France, because it was from the governor of Guyane française that Brazil's handsome young colonel first drank delicious coffee, and through a beautiful man's trick he obtained a coffee sapling from the governor's wife, and since then Brazilian coffee has never been harvested.

The British also played their part. Jamaica Blue Mountains and Kenya are among the world's most famous brands. We have to talk about Kenya here. In fact, Kenya is a neighboring country with Ethiopia. However, due to limited conditions, our compatriots did not set foot in Kenya for hundreds of years until they were first introduced to Kenya by English missionaries in 1893. The book "Out of Africa" actually reflects the reality at that time. It is a bit helpless. Our dissemination and development are always linked with colonial activities...

After several European colonial powers, our compatriots spread throughout Central and South America in the 1920s, and in 1825 we were seen in the beautiful Hawaiian Islands, where the famous Kona coffee was grown.

Let's talk about Japan. The Japanese knew our family from the Dutch, but by then our place of origin had been divided up by the Europeans, but the Japanese still did not give up. So during World War II, it took our home in Indonesia from the Dutch, and we didn't have a compatriot named Mantenin, but the Japanese asked him the name of the coffee when they drank the delicious local coffee, and the locals who didn't speak the language told him Mantenin, the name of a local tribe, so we made the mistake. The Japanese called this coffee Mantenin, and our family had another famous product. During World War II, Japan also occupied other parts of Southeast Asia. Wherever it went, coffee must be grown. Vietnam has now surpassed Indonesia to become the third largest producer. However, the quality is not high, mostly Robota varieties. Although its strength is strong, it has not won any honor for our family. Of course, the ambitious Japanese finally got the monopoly right of our family "Jamaica Blue Mountain" through various means, and finally got their wish.

China is also on the rise in Asian plantations. At first, the British brought our compatriots to Taiwan in 1884, and in 1892, the French brought our compatriots to Binchuan County, Yunnan Province. Yunnan has now become the largest producing area in China. Although it is located near the Tropic of Cancer like other producing areas, due to various conditions, no world-famous products have been born in Yunnan. However, I believe that with good cultivation, our compatriots in Yunnan will also go to the world.

Throughout the world, in addition to Europe and Antarctica, there are more than 70 countries in the other five continents, and the most concentrated area is the area called "Coffee Belt" between the Tropic of Cancer. We believe that in the near future, with the further spread of coffee culture, the further improvement of planting technology and conditions, our presence will spread all over more countries.

Murakami said: so-called life, but a cup of coffee lingering warmth. In fact, as a small coffee tree, I only hope to grow up with my compatriots, strive to grow, bear more and better fruits, bring more warm and happy feelings to people who love coffee, and bring a little joy and touch.