Somewhere high in the Ethiopian mountains, a goat herder by the name of Kaldi watched in amazement as his goats jumped & pranced about after eating the rich, deep red-coloured berries found on the bushes growing abundantly in the area. He tried chewing the berries himself. Immediately he felt rejuvenated. A monk passing by spoke with Kaldi asking him about this phenomenon. And from there the world of coffee began.

Apparently, from these humble beginnings, coffee found its way into Yemen. Here it was cultivated for the first time. It then found its way into Turkey. The Turks were the first to roast the beans on open fires. They would crush the beans & pour boiling water over them to produce the crude liquid we know today as drip coffee.

Apparently, the Venetian traders were the first to import coffee beans into Europe. News of this strange drink called coffee - & its effect – reached the Pope in Rome. Some asked that he ban coffee, fearing that it might be the work of the devil. Thankfully, the Pope appreciated the pleasures of drinking coffee. Not only did he not ban coffee but he gave it his blessing.

From here, coffee spread throughout the known world. In 1822, a French Naval Lieutenant took a single coffee tree across the Atlantic to the island of Martinique. He planted & nurtured the tree. This was the start of the coffee industry in Central & South America.

Much later, the French developed the espresso machine. However it was the Italians who perfected the machinery & marketed espresso coffee very successfully.