The Ethiopian and Yemeni Roots of Coffee
The Ethiopian and Yemeni Roots of Coffee
- Michel TuchschererMichel TuchschererAix Marseille University, CNRS, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, Franc
Summary
The beginnings of the history of coffee can be found in two neighboring countries separated only by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Coffee’s history starts before its consumption in Europe during the middle of the 17th century and before the development of its cultivation in the European tropical colonies during the 18th century. Yet this history is not well known in the early 21st century and often is pervaded by myths, the best known being the myth concerning the goat-herder Kaldi. There are objective reasons for this situation. In Ethiopia, the origins of coffee are found solely in the southern part of the country. Written sources about coffee that predate the 18th century are extremely rare, and so far very few archaeological excavations have provided data about coffee consumption. In Yemen, the archives that could cast light on the relevant period, from the end of the 15th century to the start of the 19th century, are mainly in the hands of families who are scattered across the country. Because of early-21st-century conflicts in the region, access to these archives is completely out of the question.
Nevertheless, research published since the 1990s in the areas of history and anthropology, alongside genetic analyses of the species Coffea arabica, opens the way to a new view of the pioneering role of southern Ethiopia and Yemen in the dissemination of the coffee consumption, the domestication of the coffee plant, and the production of coffee beans since at least the 13th century and up to the 18th century.
Keywords
Subjects
- Food, Identity, and Body
- Food History and Anthropology