Many coffee lovers often joke that goats found coffee in the sixth century, and their joke holds truth. No one knows exactly when or where coffee was first discovered, but the most popular tale is that of Kaldi, an Abyssinian goat herder, where coffee still grows in the wild.
Kaldi was out in the hills with his goats one day, walking and playing light melodies on his simple flute. As they wandered about, his goats went into a grove of trees only to emerge full of life and energy. They danced and skipped about. Moving into the grove, Kaldi discovered that his goats had been eating the little red berries found on the bushes within the trees. Concerned, he herded the goats back home. Perhaps these berries were poison, and the goats would not last the night, perhaps they had negative side effects and there would be no milk in the morning, or the meat they would eventually provide would be damaged and he and his family would become ill.
Yet in the morning, the goats were all fine. They eagerly took the paths that Kaldi herded them down, continuing into the grove they had found the day before. Once there, the goats again ate the berries and danced about. Figuring that the beans were not toxic, Kaldi ate a few. He felt a surge of energy and started singing poetry to the hills, dancing as he played his flute. He joined his goats as they danced back down the hills to the village.
Over time, he became known as the happiest of goat herds and Kaldi of the Dancing Goats. Some time later, after he had discovered the little red berries, a monk passed by and observed the energy and enthusiasm of the goats. He questioned Kaldi regarding the goats, and Kaldi gave him the little red berry. This berry must have been a gift from the gods because it solved a grave concern for the monk—he had been falling asleep during his prayers! When he ate the berries, he could stay awake through his prayers. This knowledge left Kaldi’s valley, along with the berries, where he shared it with others of his faith. And thus, coffee began its journey through the world.
This, of course, is a myth and a legend. You will see references in the coffee world to “The Dancing Goat” and to “Kaldi Coffee”, as it is a wonderful story to tell. However, just like before, no one truly knows who discovered coffee or when it was done. This is just a lovely little story to tell while the coffee is brewing.