The coffee plant with white blossom that smells like jasmine and a red, cherry-like fruit was discovered in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the 10th century. Back then, the fruit of the plant were boiled and afterwards the juice was used for medical purposes, that is why people called it "magical fruit."

COFFEE IN YEMEN
The fame of coffee spread quickly through the Arabian Peninsula, and for 300 years was drunk following the recipe first used in Ethiopia. In the 14th century, a new method of drinking coffee was discovered: the beans were roasted over a fire, ground and then boiled in water, and only then the coffee in served as a drink.

In the middle of the 15th century, coffee reached Yemen. Yemen's climate and fertile soil are the reason for the favourable development of the plant in this area.

Due to its new brewing method and incredible aroma, coffee became even more popular.

COFFEE IN ISTANBUL
During the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, also known as Kanuni, meaning the Lawgiver, in 16 century, the Ottoman Governor of Yemen, Özdemir Pasha, who had grown to love the drink, brought coffee to Istanbul.

Coffee soon became a vital part of palace cuisine and was very popular in court. The position of Chief Coffee Maker was added to the roster of court functionaries. The Chief Coffee Maker's duty was to brew the Sultan's or his patron's coffee, and was chosen for his loyalty and ability to keep secrets. The annals of Ottoman History record a number of Chief Coffee Makers who rose through the ranks to become Grand Viziers to the Sultan.

Shortly coffee turned into people’s favourite aroma in Istanbul. The coffee beans were purchased and then roasted on pans. The beans were then ground in mortars and brewed in coffeepots known as "cezve". Coffee became popular in the palace, in the coffeehouses and people’s homes. This way day by day coffe walked its slow but triumphant way through centuries.

COFFEE IN VENICE
Venetian merchants who visited Istanbul, had a liking for this drink and carried it back with them to Venice. This way Europeand got coffee for the first time in 1615. At first, the beverage was sold on the street by lemonade vendors, but in 1645 the first coffeehouse opened in Italy. Coffeehouses soon sprang up all over the country and, as in many other lands, they became a platform for people from all walks of life, especially artists and students, to come together and chat.

COFFE IN MARSEILLES
Travellers who tasted coffee in Istanbul described its unique flavour in letters they sent home to Marseilles. In 1644, the first coffee beans, along with the apparatus used to prepare and serve coffee, were brought to Marseilles by Monsieur de la Roque, the French ambassador.

In 1660, merchants from Marseilles who had grown to love the beverage they had first tasted in Istanbul began to import coffee to the city. The first coffeehouse opened in Marseilles in 1671. Initially, coffeehouses catered to merchants and travellers, but they soon became popular with people from all walks of life.

COFFEE IN PARIS
In 1669 Siltan Mehmet IV sent an ambassador to the court of King Louis XIV of France. This was the fair-spoken Süleyman Ağa.  Among the ambassador's possessions brought from Turkey were several sacks of coffee. The Ottoman ambassador described the Turkish coffee to the French as a "magical beverage."

Süleyman Ağa quickly became a part of the Parisian aristocracy. For them it was a privilege to be invited as guests of Süleyman Ağa and have a pleasant chat over a cup of coffee with unique taste. The ambassador captured everyone’s attention by telling countless stories related to coffee.

In 1686 in Paris the first real coffeehouse was opened: Café de Procope. It soon became a favourite place, frequented by famous poets, playwrights, actors and musicians. Many renown figures such as Rousseau, Diderot and Voltaire visited Café de Procope. Following the trend, many other coffeehouses were opened in the city.

COFFEE IN VIENNA
In 1683 the Second Siege of Vienna ended. As the Turks retreated, they left their extra supplies behind. The abandoned goods included a large number of tents, livestock, grain and around 500 sacks of coffee. The Viennese had no idea what coffee was. A captain stated that the coffee beans were camel-feed and so they dumped the coffee into the Danube River.

Kolschitzky who had lived among the Turks for many years and had served as a spy during the Siege of Vienna heard of what had happened and requested the sacks as a reward for his services. First Kolschitzky sold coffee going door to door, and then in a large tent. He offered Turkish coffee in small porcelain cups and taught the Viennese how to prepare it.

The Viennese coffeehouses that opened during this period set an example for coffeehouses in many other countries.

COFFEE IN LONDON
England first became acquainted with coffee in 1637. A Turk brought coffee to Oxford and it quickly became popular among students and teachers. Later on they established the "Oxford Coffee Club."

In 1650 the first coffeehouse by the name of "Angel" was opened.

In 1652, a Greek named Pasqua Rosée opened the first coffeehouse in London. He was good at roasting and brewing Turkish coffee and shared the taste of the beverage with his friends and clients.

By 1660, London's coffeehouses had become an integral part of its social culture. Bigger part of the visitors was writers, artists, poets, lawyers, politicians and philosophers. Coffehouses became so popular that they were called "Penny Universities" because a cup of coffee was sold for a penny.

COFFEE IN HOLLAND
The adventures of coffe in Holland significantly differ from its history in the other countries.  As for many years the Dutch were more concerned with coffee as a trade commodity than as a beverage, coffee first reached the country via Yemen in the 17th century. It was sent to the Dutch colonies for cultivation. In 1699, coffee beans were planted on the island of Java, thus laying the foundation for Indonesia's coffee plantations. In 1711, the first Javanese coffee beans were sold on the open market in Holland.

The first coffeehouses in Holland opened in the 1660s. Their most important characteristic was they own unique style. A rich décor, a warm atmosphere and lush gardens… Moreover in many of the towns they grew popular as places where merchants and financiers conducted business meetings.

In the 1680s, the Dutch introduced coffee to Scandinavia, the region which today has the highest per capita consumption of coffee in the world.

COFFEE IN GERMANY
Coffee was introduced to Germany in 1675. The first coffeehouses opened in 1679-1680 in Hamburg, Bremen and Hanover.

At first, coffee was considered a beverage of the aristocracy. The middle and lower classes were far from the taste of coffee until the early 18th century, and it was only much later that it came to be prepared and consumed at home.

On the other hand, as coffeehouses were the domain of men, middle class women established their own "coffee clubs."

COFFEE ON THE AMERICAN CONTINENT
Coffee reached North America in 1668. In 1696 in New York was opened the first coffeehouse called "The King's Arms."

In 1714, the Dutch presented Louis XIV with a coffee sapling from their plantations on Java. The sapling was planted in the royal Jardin des Plantes in Paris.

In 1723, a French mariner named Gabriel du Clieu took a sapling from France to the island of Martinique. From here, the coffee plant spread to other Caribbean islands, as well as to North and Central America.

In 1727, a Portuguese colonel named de Mello Palheta carried coffee saplings to Brazil from French Guyana. Today, Brazil is the number one producer of coffee in the world, accounting for 35% of global coffee production.

In 1730, the British began cultivating coffee in Jamaica.

By the mid 19th century, coffee had become one of the most important commodities in world trade.