Coffee Origin

The history of coffee dates back to the 15th century and probably earlier, with a number of reports and legends surrounding its first use. The earliest evidence of coffee consumption or knowledge of the coffee tree dates back to the early 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen, and soon spread to Mecca and Medina. By the 16th century, it reached the rest of the Middle East, South India (Karnataka), Persia, Turkey, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa. Coffee then spread to the Balkans, Italy, and the rest of Europe, as well as to Southeast Asia and despite bans imposed in the 15th century by religious leaders in Mecca and Cairo, and later by the Catholic Church.