Before coffee became the world’s favourite drink

The story of coffee begins with a small red berry, 
Turned into a drink that is drunk by many.
Founded in Ethiopia, so the story goes,
Eaten by goats that a local farmer owned.
The berry gave them so much energy, unexplainable it seemed,
Until Kaldi the farmer saw what was hidden in the leaves.
He discovered red berries, sighting them as the source,
He was right about this, they were in fact the cause.
Kaldi was curious and decided to taste them too,
Eventually sharing his experience with a special few.
They felt the same effect after believing what Kaldi had said,
And so word of the discovery began to spread.

A new drink was born known as coffee today,
However, there are rumours it was discovered in another way.
A disciple in Mocha, exiled and in need of food,
Spotted some berries, so on them he chewed. 
The berries were bitter, the taste was bad,
He boiled them instead, consuming the first coffee ever had.

Coffee-plantation in Southern Brazil circa 1879.jpg

Illustration of a coffee-plantation in Southern Brazil circa 1879.  

It’s hard to say which event happened first,
But it’s clear coffee provides many with a much-needed energy burst.
Coffee made its way to Yemen and further beyond,
It was luxury and foreign, so many were fond.
Travellers had tasted coffee on their trips,
Then returned home to tell stories of its taste on their lips.
The Europeans in particular seeked out this exotic new drink,
But the price was too high, so they had to rethink.
They cultivated the plant in places they had colonised,
Causing the demand for slaves to rise. 

family of coffee pickers in East Java.jpg

Family of coffee pickers in East Java. Credit: Stuart

The Caribbean and Java were just some of the places chosen,
Along with Guatemala where Indigenous Mayan lands were stolen.
Across the world colonists stole the rights of nations, 
Forcing them to work on coffee plantations.
With no rights and no choice, suffering oppression and exploitation,
These countries were abused, all for coffee cultivation.
To keep up with demand, goods and slaves were frequently traded,
Across a route known as the Triangular Trade, involving three main stages.
West Africa to the Caribbean, then to Europe, each time,
Sending slaves and goods repeatedly across major trading lines.
Over in Brazil millions of African slaves arrived,
And so it became the largest coffee producer of all time.
See in Brazil the land was vast, as forests spread far and wide,
So colonists destroyed the land, as coffee demand continued to rise.  

To this day coffee remains one of the most frequent commodities traded,
A drink so sought after, its popularity has never faded.
Its story is a mix of both bad and good,
But often its history is not fully understood.
For some, it affects their livelihood and homes,
Causing environmental destruction in order to be grown.
In many cases, its a popular way of socialising,
It seems no matter what, the desire for coffee will continue rising.