The Legend
The probably most well-known anecdote about the discovery of the coffee tells of shepherds in Abessinia (today Ethiopia).
The shepherds were surprised that some of their goats were lazy and slow-acting, others however behaved madly, jumped around and also at night gave no peace at all. Thus they asked for advice in a close monastery. When the monks observed the goats at their pasture places, they noticed that the animals nibbled red, cherrylike fruits of a bush with white blooms. They tried these fruits themselves curiously, but they were in such a way disappointed of their bitter taste that they threw the fruits in the fire. A little while later a tasty smell spread around. Thereby encouraged, the monks made a tealike hot drink from the fruits roasted in the fire, which tasted wonderful to them. The drink helped them to remain awake during the nocturnal prayers and from now on it was praised as a godgiven gift .
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The tree of the desires
The coffeeplants are cultivated by constant backcut as 2 to 3 m high bushes. To prosper they need shady, warm and damp climate. The blooms are white and resemble those of jasmine. The bushes carry dark red, cherrylike fruits, which must be picked individually by hand. |
