Coffee has become a phenomenon and the second in the world’s commodities, second only to oil. People love their morning cup of brew, but you will find people enjoying coffee at all times of day, at many social events, including a nice cup of ice coffee during an outdoor grilling event.
Coffee Timeline
The history of coffee is a fascinating one. From being discovered accidentally by a goat herder in Ethiopia many years ago to becoming one of the world’s leading commodities, second only to oil, in the modern age, coffee has proven to be a phenomenon with many interesting events surrounding its evolution throughout history.
| Ethiopian Stories | First known discovery of coffee berries. Legend of goat herder Kaldi of Ethiopia whose goats become hyper after eating red berries from a local shrub. As he tries the berries himself his mood is altered for the better. |
| Arabian Stories | First coffee is roasted and boiled by Arabs who make “qahwa” — a beverage made from plants. |
| Year 1475 | The first known coffee shop in the world was opened in Constantinople. |
| 1607 | Coffee is introduced to the New World by Captain John Smith, founder of Virginia at Jamestown. |
| 1652 | The first coffeehouse in England was opened in St. Michael’s Alley in Cornhill. |
| 1654 | The first coffeehouse opens in Italy. |
| 1672 | The opening of the first Parisian cafe dedicated to serving coffee. In 1713, King Louis XIV is presented with a coffee tree. |
| 1683 | Post Battle of Vienna, Austria opens its first coffee house by using supplies from the spoils obtained after defeating the Turks. |
| 1721 | The first coffeehouse opens in Berlin. |
| 1723 | Coffee Plants are introduced in America for cultivation. Gabriel de Clieu, a French naval officer, transports a seedling to Martinique. By 1777, 1920 million coffee plants are cultivated on the island. |
| 1727 | Brazilians smuggle coffee tree seeds out of Paris and that is the beginning of the Brazilian coffee empire. |
| 1763 | After the opening of Rome’s first coffee house some 20 years earlier, Venice, by 1763 has over 2,000 coffee shops. |
| 1812 | After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, Americans’ taste for coffee grew, and high demand during the American Civil War together with advances in brewing technology secured the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in the United States. |
| 1822 | The prototype of the first espresso coffee machine is created in France. |
| 1905 | The first commercial espresso machine is manufactured in Italy. |
| 1908 | First-ever drip coffee maker is invented by and Melitta Bentz makes a filter using blotting paper. |
| 1933 | Dr. Ernest Illy develops the first automatic espresso machine. |
| 1938 | Nescafé instant coffee is invented by the Nestlé company. |
| 1945 | Achilles Gaggia perfects the espresso machine with a piston that creates a high pressure extraction to produce a thick layer of foam, a trademark of espresso and cappuccino. |
| 1971 | The first Starbucks opens in Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington. And, the rest, as they say, is history! |
| 1995 | Coffee is the world’s most popular beverage. More than 450 billion cups are consumed each year, a world commodity second only to oil. |
| 2004 | Coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries. |
| 2005 | Coffee is the world’s seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value. |
| 2009 | Starbucks has more than 16,226 stores worldwide, including 11,434 stores located in the United States with a reported net income of over 634 million dollars in yearly revenue. These days there is a Starbucks on almost every corner and the lines are often outrageous for people waiting to buy one of the best cups of coffee ever made. It is possible to have coffee like Starbucks at home, with coffee makers such as the Keurig coffee maker that brews coffee house type coffee at home. |
Now we have the most sophisticated and efficient, best coffee makers that too for the cheapest price possible. The evolution of coffee is really fascinating.