The goat that discovered coffee: the (alleged) origin of coffee

According to the best-known legend about the origin of coffee, it wasn't a person but a herd of goats that discovered the plant. Kaldi, an Ethiopian goatherd, is said to have noticed his goats becoming unusually energetic after eating the red berries of a particular shrub, and so, around the 9th century, the story of coffee is said to have begun. It's never been proven, but it's the story that's been passed down for centuries.

The legend of Kaldi and his dancing goats

The story goes like this: Kaldi noticed that his goats weren't tired in the evening but instead bounded around excitedly and even seemed to "dance" after eating berries from a certain shrub. Curious, he tried some himself and soon felt a similar burst of energy.

Kaldi is said to have then brought the berries to a local monastery. The monks, however, weren't immediately convinced: according to some versions of the story, they threw the berries into the fire, only for the roasted aroma of the beans to change their minds. They fished the roasted beans out of the fire, ground them, and dissolved them in water, and so, the story goes, the very first cup of coffee was born.

What do we actually know about the origin of coffee?

The story of Kaldi wasn't written down until 1671, by the French author Antoine Faustus Nairon, more than 900 years after it's supposed to have taken place. Historians therefore tend to regard it as folklore rather than historical fact.

What we do know for certain is that the coffee plant (Coffea arabica) originates from the Ethiopian highlands, in the region of Kaffa, thought to be the origin of the word "coffee". From there, the plant spread to Yemen, where Sufi monks drank coffee to stay awake during night-time prayers. Via the port city of Mocha, coffee then reached the rest of the Arab world, and by the 17th century, Europe too.

From legend to global habit

Whether Kaldi really existed or not, the story captures something rather fitting: coffee came about through chance and curiosity, not a carefully laid plan. From a goatherd in the Ethiopian highlands to the more than 2 billion cups drunk worldwide every day, it's a story that suits a drink that's been bringing people together for centuries.

FAQ about the origin of coffee

Who was Kaldi? Kaldi is the central figure in a legend about the origin of coffee: an Ethiopian goatherd said to have discovered that his goats became energetic after eating coffee berries.

Is the legend of Kaldi true? There's no historical evidence for it. The story was first written down in 1671, centuries after the events it describes are said to have taken place, and historians regard it as a legend.

Where does coffee originally come from? From the Ethiopian highlands, in the region of Kaffa. From there, the coffee plant spread via Yemen to the rest of the world.

Why did monks drink coffee? Sufi monks in Yemen used coffee to stay awake during long night-time prayer sessions, one of the earliest documented uses of coffee as a drink.

Want to taste where it all began? Discover our Gently Untied, grown in the very same highlands where the story of coffee is said to have started.