What Kind of Cat is the "Cat" in Kopi Luwak? What Are the Origin Stories of Coffee? Who Wrote the Coffee Shepherd Legend? Who Is Shaker Omar?

The Global Popularity of Coffee and Its Origin Stories

In the 21st century, "coffee" as one of the world's three major beverages is popular throughout the world. For many countries, coffee is not just a simple daily drink, but also a cultural symbol of the local area. Just as different countries have different characteristic coffees, the legends about the origin of coffee also vary depending on the storyteller.

There are many theories about the origin of coffee, and although most of them are not true, it's not harmful to read these stories~ So today, FrontStreet Coffee wants to share with you the widely circulated "Coffee Origin Theory." Due to the large number, FrontStreet Coffee has selected three relatively famous ones to share with everyone~ (Note: just listen for entertainment)

I. The Legend of the Coffee Shepherd

This is the most widely circulated story, and for a long time in the past, it was the coffee origin theory that Europeans firmly believed in, written by the Roman linguist Antoine Faustus Nairon: Around 700 AD, a child named "Kaldi" in Ethiopia was working as a shepherd, taking the flock to forage in the mountains and forests every day. Suddenly one day, he discovered that the flock was unusually excited, jumping around, running east and west. Even some older, sick sheep were very active and in high spirits. So he began to explore the reason. Finally, he discovered that it was because the flock had eaten some unseen red fruits that produced such symptoms. So he also picked a few to try, and unexpectedly found that the fruit was sweet and sour, and not long after, his body's fatigue disappeared and he regained his vitality. So after that, every day, he would follow the flock to pick fruits everywhere, eating them for his own enjoyment.

Until one day, an elder from a nearby mosque passed by and saw Kaldi and the flock full of energy, jumping around as if possessed, so he stepped forward to ask what was happening. After Kaldi told him about the effects of the fruit, the elder, half-believing and half-doubting, picked some to try. Just like Kaldi, not long after swallowing it, he also regained his vitality, full of energy, which left a deep impression on him.

That night, when the elder returned to the mosque to pray, sudden drowsiness struck and the elder directly fell into a dream. In the dream, the Islamic prophet Muhammad suddenly appeared in a vision, instructing the elder that he only needed to boil those red fruits from the daytime in water and drink it to drive away drowsiness and immediately regain alertness. After the elder did as instructed, it果然 worked as expected! Since then, before nighttime prayers, Muslims would drink the juice boiled from these fruits to drive away drowsiness and stay awake. As the effects spread more and more widely, this beverage called "qahwa" spread in all directions, and Kaldi was also known as the first person to discover coffee.

This is the complete content of "The Legend of the Coffee Shepherd." Although it has many flaws, for a long time, many people firmly believed in this legend.

II. The Exiled Sheikh Omar

There is another legend that is also widely circulated: this legend tells of an Islamic sheikh named Sheikh Omar in the port of Mocha. Because he helped many people locally, he incurred the jealousy of the Mocha governor, who feared that Omar's popularity would surpass his own. So he exiled Omar to the remote mountainous areas of the country, leaving him to fend for himself. When he was foraging in the mountains one day, he discovered red fruits growing on unknown trees, so he took these fruits back as food. It turned out that the seeds inside the fruit were large and hard, difficult to swallow. So he roasted these seeds over fire until they were charred black, then boiled them in water before drinking. Unexpectedly, this black water actually emitted an alluring aroma, and after taking it, all fatigue disappeared, and he was full of vitality. So Omar picked these magical red fruits every day, and whenever he met someone who was sick and exhausted, he would roast the fruits, boil them into water, and give it to them to drink, and they would quickly recover from fatigue and regain their spirits.

Due to Sheikh Omar's widespread good deeds, his fame grew greatly. The people of Mocha, grateful to him, collectively welcomed him back to Mocha. After returning to Mocha, he continued his charitable work with coffee, and was eventually known by the local people as the patron saint of Mocha and coffee. This legend comes from 15th century Yemen, and the Sheikh Omar in the story was based on the Islamic sheikh "Shadhili" who grew up in Mocha.

III. The Ethiopian Civet

The last story, although not widely spread, is relatively close to reality, because the time, characters, location, and roles in the story correspond very well with reality (but still just listen for entertainment): According to legend, coffee seeds were brought to the mountainous regions of Ethiopia by civet cats from central Africa, where coffee seeds took root and grew. Because this was the territory of the Galla people, the Galla people naturally discovered the effects of these red fruits. The Galla people were very clever; in order to obtain large quantities of fruits, they began to cultivate coffee trees.

When the coffee trees bore fruit, the Galla people would take out the coffee beans from the fruits, roast them, crush them, mix them with animal fat, stir them into balls, and put them in bags for later use. Because animal fat and coffee beans were added, these ball-shaped items could not only refresh the mind but also be used to satisfy hunger. Eating one before each battle could maintain a steady stream of physical energy throughout the day. Later, the effects of these fruits were learned by the Yemenis, so coffee seeds were brought to Yemen by the Yemenis for cultivation. Subsequently, coffee was also spread and promoted by the Yemenis. Besides these stories, there are many, many more coffee legends. Those who are interested can research them on their own. FrontStreet Coffee won't share too many more here~

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