History

Coffee was very common in Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey by the 14th century. The drink first became widely known in these countries, where it was so popular it was called “Islamic wine”.

Coffee came to the western world in the second half of the 17th century, when the Ottomans were driven from Vienna and bags of strange dark beans were found in their camps.

This dark, bitter beverage with its an energising effect rapidly became popular all over Europe, and by the end of the 17th century coffee shops had opened in Hamburg, Marseilles and Venice. Demand grew so quickly that the big traders started planting the crop in other parts of the world (the Dutch in Indonesia, the French in Martinique and the Antilles, the Portuguese in Brazil).

In the next century “cafés” multiplied and became vibrant cultural centres and gathering places for writers, politicians and artists.

Coffee is now the world’s most popular drink after water.