Coffee and the various legends on its origin

The most well-known is probably the one coming from the Chehodet monastery in Yemen. The legend tells that monks, having learned from a shepherd that his goats were lively even at night, if they eat certain berries, they decided to prepare a beverage with these berries that enabled them to stay awake the night. Another legend is about Mohammad, who one day when he was feeling bad, received the visit of the Archangel Gabriel, sent by Allah with a miraculous beverage. The beverage was dark as the Sacred Black Stone of the Mecca, commonly called “qawa”. Mohammed drank it, suddenly revived and left again for new exploits. Maybe for us the coffee of the drinks dispenser does not have the same effect, but surely at least can give us the energy for some hours of tough work.

The most famous story tells, however, that in Arabia a shepherd named Kaddi, having grazed his goats, appalled noticed that, after eating the berries of a spontaneous plant, showed signed of excitement. The shepherd, failing to explain what happened, submitted the problem to the old Abbot Yahia. The abbot, sensing the properties of the plant, created a bitter and full of heat drink, that warming the body, could invigorate it, freeing it from sleep and tiredness. That is exactly the same drink that we can taste every day in bar of in the office.

A similar legend says, instead, that coffee was discovered by an Imam in an Arabic monastery; the Imam prepared a decoction and let all the monks taste it, who stayed awake without problems all night long. Another story says that an Arabic monk, the sheikh Ali ben Omar, that was alone during a trip to Moka, a city in which he was accompanying his master Schadeli, who died during the journey. An angel appeared, he was encouraged to continue toward the city where a terrible plague raged. Here, with his prayers to Allah, he was able to heal many sick people and even the daughter of the King, who he fell in love with. But the King decided to make him move away, and the monk, obliged to live in the lonely of the mountain, to satisfy his hunger and thirsty, had to ask for the help of his Master, who send him a wonderful bird with colored feather and an enchanting song. Aroused and relieved by the melodious sing, Omar came near to admire the bird and arrived there, he saw a tree covered with white flowers and red fruits: the coffee plant. He took some berries and made a decoction with healthy virtues that he often offered to pilgrims who came to his shelter. When the news spread of the magical quality of the drink, the monk was welcomed back in the kingdom with great honors. 

Coffee is a beverage of ancient and enchanting past, that has not lost its fascination even if now we can find it everywhere. Coffee is still an inseparable companion of our days, with its priceless virtues which make it still irreplaceable.