Think of a fruit. The drink made from this fruit adds color to your life, makes you happy, gives you energy and increases your performance. Sometimes it makes you awake all night long , but sometimes it gives you extra time during the day. It is satisfying when you drink it alone, but it is even more enjoyable when you drink it with the people you love. You drink itwith  peoplefirst time  you meet. You drink while talking about important topics. So you drink at every moment of your life. I think you can  guess this magic fruit. It has been about 400 years since coffee entered our lives. Have you ever wondered where coffee was first discovered and who introduced it to the world? I researched it for you and actually this research surprised me because it was my ancestors, a merchant from the time of the Ottoman Empire, who spread a fruit of African origin to the world. I will try to explain how in this article.

In the 9th century, a shepherd in the city of Kaffa in Ethiopia noticed that his goats became more active after eating the fruits of a tree. Later, the shepherd became very curious about the fruit  and he tasted it. He tries the fruit with green leaves and red skin that goats eat. After eating the fruit, he realizes that he is much more energetic and happy, just like the goats.

The shepherd becomes very happy and tells the monks about his situation. Later, the monks tasted the fruit, but they did not like it so they threw it into the fire. The taste of the fruit was very bitter to them. But then something happens and while the fruits were roasting on the fire, a pleasant smell spreads around. Then the monks made a drink from the roasted fruits and tasted it. Then all the monks drank this drink one by one and they all liked it very much. The drink  allowed the monks to stay up all night without sleeping, so they prayed together throughout the night. It became a very popular drink in Ethiopia. Local people even turned the grains of this fruit into flour and made a type of bread. I really can’t imagine what bread made from coffee would be like, but I think those who eat this bread would be very energetic.

Let’s talk about the spread of coffee around the world. Merchants in the Arabian Peninsula, which was the center of trade in the world at that time, especially in Yemen, were selling many different products. Ottoman merchants frequently went to Yemen to buy new products. The merchant  liked it very much and presented it to the Ottoman sultan, Sultan Suleiman. The Sultan liked the drink very much. In the beginning, it was drunk only in the palace. It was served to the guests. Guests from all over the world liked the coffee very much and talked about a drink called Turkish coffee. The Ottoman empire was very large and they traded with many countries in Europe. Coffee beans were sold to merchants in Venice and Europe first met coffee in Italy. Later, the first cafe was opened in London and it became a drink that attracted the public’s attention after tea.

Coffee still has a very important  in Turkiye. Drinks  such as Americano espresso and cappuccino still do not attract as much attention as Turkish coffee. The presentation and preparation of Turkish coffee is quite different from other coffees. The feature of Turkish coffee is that it goes through special processes from roasting to grinding, fermentation and especially cooking. There is a special cooking tool we call a coffee pot ‘ CEZVE’. Sometimes we cook it on the barbecue, sometimes on the stove, and sometimes on hot sand. We always serve it with a glass of cold water and of course Turkish delight. If you go to Turkiye one day , you should try Turkish coffee.