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 stands as one of the world's three great beverages, enjoyed everywhere. For many countries it is more than a daily drink -- it is a cultural symbol. And just as every country has its own characteristic coffee, the legends about where coffee came from change depending on who is telling the story.

There are many theories about coffee's origin, and while most are more myth than history, they are fun to read. So today FrontStreet Coffee shares three of the most widely circulated "origin theories." (Take them as entertainment, not scholarship.)

I. The Legend of the Coffee Shepherd

This is by far the best-known story, and for a long time it was the origin tale Europeans firmly believed in, recorded by the Roman linguist Antoine Faustus Nairon: around 700 AD, a boy named Kaldi in Ethiopia worked as a shepherd, leading his flock to graze in the mountains and forests each day. One day he noticed the flock acting strangely excited -- leaping about and darting in every direction, even the older, sick sheep brimming with energy. Curious, he investigated and found the animals had been eating red fruits from trees none of them had seen before. He picked a few and tried them himself: the fruit was sweet and tart, and before long his fatigue melted away and his energy returned. From then on, he followed the flock around picking and eating the fruits daily.

One day an elder from a nearby mosque passed by and saw Kaldi and his flock leaping around as if possessed. When he asked what was going on, Kaldi told him about the fruit. Half doubting, the elder tried some, and just like Kaldi he soon felt wide awake and full of vigor -- an impression that stayed with him.

That night, back at the mosque for prayers, drowsiness overwhelmed him and he fell into a dream. In the vision, the Islamic prophet Muhammad appeared and told him he only needed to boil those red fruits in water and drink it to banish sleep. The elder did exactly that, and it worked! From then on, Muslims drank the boiled juice of these fruits before night prayers to stay awake. As word spread, this beverage called "qahwa" traveled far and wide, and Kaldi went down in legend as the first person to discover coffee.

That is the full "Legend of the Coffee Shepherd." Full of holes it may be, but for centuries people believed every word.

II. The Exiled Sheikh Omar

Another widely told legend centers on an Islamic sheikh named Omar, living in the port of Mocha. Because he had helped so many locals, he drew the jealousy of the governor of Mocha, who feared Omar's popularity might outshine his own and exiled him to the remote mountains to fend for himself. While foraging there one day, Omar found red fruits growing on unfamiliar trees and brought some back to eat. The seeds inside were large and hard, nearly impossible to chew, so he roasted them over a fire until charred, then boiled them in water. To his surprise, the black liquid gave off an alluring aroma, and after drinking it all his weariness vanished. Omar then gathered these remarkable fruits every day, and whenever he met someone sick or exhausted he would roast and boil the fruit for them -- and they too would quickly recover their strength.

Word of Omar's good deeds spread, and his fame grew until the grateful people of Mocha welcomed him home in a body. Back in Mocha he continued his charitable work with coffee, and the locals came to honor him as the patron saint of Mocha and of coffee. The legend comes from 15th-century Yemen, and the Sheikh Omar of the story is based on the Islamic sheikh Shadhili, who grew up in Mocha.

III. The Ethiopian Civet

The last story is less famous but closest to reality, because its time, characters, place, and roles all line up surprisingly well with the facts (though again -- enjoy it as a story): legend has it that coffee seeds were carried into the mountains of Ethiopia by civet cats from central Africa, where the seeds took root and grew. Since this was the land of the Galla people, they were the first to discover the effects of the red fruits. Resourceful as they were, the Galla began cultivating coffee trees to secure larger harvests.

When the trees fruited, the Galla would extract the beans, roast them, crush them, mix them with animal fat, roll the mixture into balls, and carry them in bags. Thanks to the fat and the beans, these energy balls both sharpened the mind and staved off hunger -- eating one before battle reportedly fueled a warrior for the whole day. Later the Yemenis learned of these fruits and carried coffee seeds back to Yemen for cultivation, and it was the Yemenis who spread and promoted coffee from there. Plenty more coffee legends exist besides these -- the curious can dig them up on their own. FrontStreet Coffee will stop here for now.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Whether or not civets and shepherds really discovered coffee, Ethiopia is where the coffee tree was born -- and its beans remain the best way to taste that heritage. The FrontStreet Kaffa Forest coffee comes straight from the wild heart of the legend: trees growing untended at 1,400-2,100 meters under native shade, roasted medium-light to reveal white floral notes, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, and a green-tea-like finish.

For a gentler introduction to Ethiopian character, the FrontStreet washed Yirgacheffe offers clear jasmine florals and lively citrus acidity with an elegant tea-like body -- famously refreshing, like a clean lemon tea. And for richer fruit, the FrontStreet natural Huakui from Hambella, Sidamo is dried 21 days on raised beds and shows pale fermented wine notes, florals, citrus, and mango with a thick body and long, honeyed finish.