How was coffee introduced into Arabia? Arab Coffee Culture

How was coffee introduced into Arabia?

European historians argue that as early as 800 years ago, there were artificial coffee trees for trade in Yemen in the southern Arabian Peninsula, and there was historical evidence that at that time, there was indeed trade across the Red Sea between Yemen and Ethiopia. It is speculated that if the use of coffee was discovered by Ethiopians, coffee was introduced into the Arabian Peninsula during this period and was widely grown in Yemen. Even so, there is still a myth in the Arabian Peninsula: "once a flock of big birds with ripe coffee fruits flew across the Red Sea and dropped them in Yemen, so that coffee began to grow in Yemen."

There is no way to prove the myth, and so far there is no historical evidence to prove the exact time and reason why the coffee arrived in the Arabian Peninsula, but one thing is certain that Ethiopia did invade the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula in 525. And ruled Yemen for half a century. As a result, people tend to believe that coffee was introduced into the Arabian Peninsula during this period. In the very long centuries since then, coffee has been used as a refreshing, refreshing or special medicine for Islamists to cure diseases in Arabian Peninsula. at the same time, people's methods of making coffee have become more and more perfect. It was not until around the 15th century that coffee was widely spread among ordinary people as a popular drink. At the end of the 16th century, the story of Arabs drinking "black molasses boiled from black seeds" was spread verbally among many European travelers. It can be confirmed that the Arabs at that time already knew how to bake and cook coffee.

After coffee became a popular drink in the southern Arabian Peninsula, it was brought home by Islamists who made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where it began to spread rapidly in Arab countries and landed in Turkey and Persia one after another. The widespread acceptance of coffee will inevitably lead to the birth of cafes. It is said that the earliest cafes were born for religious reasons, but they soon evolved into places for people to draw and chat, a tradition that continues to this day.

As for where the world's first cafe was born, there are two main arguments: one is that it was born in the 15th century in Constantinople, the capital of Turkey (present-day Istanbul), where bridge is said to have been born; the other is that it was born in the shrine of Islam in the early 16th century.

But no matter where it was born, its significance goes beyond providing a place for people to drink coffee and chat. As historian Ukes wrote in his most authoritative book, the Coffee World, "whenever coffee is introduced, it encourages the revolution." Coffee is the most extreme drink in the world. Caffeine stimulates thinking. Once people think deeply, they want to rebel, endangering the status of tyrants. "

His famous saying was first confirmed in the holy city of Mecca. People gathered in Mecca cafes to openly discuss politics and satirize those in power. Some sarcasm reached Berg, the young governor of Mecca at the time, who, in a rage, ordered the closure of all Mecca cafes in 1511. The ruler of Mecca is not the only one who hates coffee. Cafes in Turkey have been ordered to close, and coffee has been listed as an illegal drink to prevent people from making reactionary remarks while drinking coffee. Those who drink coffee in violation of the law will be beaten with a stick, and the repeat offender will be sewn into a leather-sewn bag and thrown into the Bosporus (today's Istanbul Strait).

However, oppression and resistance are twins, the government ban can not eliminate people's love of coffee, many people are willing to risk their lives to drink coffee, the ban on coffee is ultimately in vain.