From Sufi communities in Yemen to auction records in Panama. Pick a place on the map to read what happened there.
World map dots from world-atlas data (ISC licence).
1Yemen
Late 1400s
Coffee drinking is first recorded in the late 15th century, among Sufi communities in Yemen. There's no confirmed evidence of coffee as a drink before then. The famous goatherd legend came much later: its first written version, from 1671, is set in Arabia Felix, in the south of the Arabian peninsula. 1
2Istanbul
1554
According to the Ottoman chronicler İbrahim Peçevi, two Arab merchants, from Aleppo and Damascus, opened the city's first coffeehouse in Tahtakale in 1554. In 2013 UNESCO added Turkish coffee culture and tradition to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. 18
3Venice
1645
The botanist Prospero Alpini brought coffee to Venice from Egypt in 1580. In 1645 the city opened mainland Europe's first coffeehouse. 1
4Java
1711
In 1696 the Dutch governor in Malabar, India, sent seedlings of Yemeni arabica to Batavia, now Jakarta. Floods killed the first batch, and a second shipment followed in 1699. In 1711 the Dutch East India Company sent the first Java coffee to Europe. 2
5Martinique
1720
Gabriel de Clieu brought coffee seedlings to the island of Martinique in 1720. From there coffee spread to Saint-Domingue, Mexico and other Caribbean islands. 1
6Brazil
1727
Brazil's first coffee plantation dates from 1727, when Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta smuggled seeds in from French Guiana. Two centuries later, a coffee surplus left by Brazil's falling prices led Nestlé to develop Nescafé, launched in 1938. 17
7Jamaica
1728
Coffee was introduced to Jamaica in 1728. Today only coffee certified by the Jamaica Commodities Regulatory Authority can be sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain, named for mountains that rise to 2,256 m. 3
8Kona, Hawaii
1828
In 1828 the Reverend Samuel Ruggles brought coffee to the Kona district of Hawaii, from Brazilian cuttings. 4
9Panama
2004
The Geisha variety originated in Ethiopia and reached Panama from Costa Rica. The first Geisha ever auctioned, a washed lot from Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2004, sold for $21 a pound. In 2019 a natural Gesha from Elida Estate fetched $1,029 a pound at the Best of Panama auction. 910
19 moments, oldest first.
Coffee drinking is first recorded, among Sufi communities. 1
Two Arab merchants open the city's first coffeehouse, in Tahtakale. 1
The botanist Prospero Alpini brings coffee to Venice from Egypt. 1
Mainland Europe's first coffeehouse opens. 1
The goatherd legend first appears in writing, set in Arabia Felix. 1
The Dutch governor in Malabar sends Yemeni arabica seedlings to Batavia, now Jakarta. 2
The first Java coffee is shipped to Europe. 2
Gabriel de Clieu brings coffee seedlings to the island. 1
The country's first coffee plantation starts from seeds smuggled in from French Guiana. 1
Coffee is introduced to Jamaica. 3
Samuel Ruggles brings Brazilian cuttings to the Kona district. 4
Angelo Moriondo patents a steam-driven "instantaneous" coffee machine. 5
Luigi Bezzera patents improvements to the machine. Desiderio Pavoni buys the patent in 1903. 5
Ludwig Roselius invents a way to take the caffeine out of coffee. It's patented in 1906. 6
Nestlé launches Nescafé, made to use up a coffee surplus after Brazil's prices fell. 7
Achille Gaggia develops the lever-driven espresso machine. 5
Some are places, some are plants and some are ways of making coffee. Here's what each one tells you.
Very finely ground coffee, brought just to the boil in a cezve and served unfiltered, with the grounds left in the cup. UNESCO listed Turkish coffee culture and tradition in 2013. 118
What unfiltered coffee means for your healthCoffee brewed by forcing hot, pressurised water through finely ground coffee. Angelo Moriondo of Turin patented a steam-driven coffee machine in 1884. 5
Coffee from the Indonesian island of Java. By 1719 the Dutch East India Company could supply Europe's demand with "Java coffee". 1
Only coffee certified by the Jamaica Commodities Regulatory Authority can be sold under this name. 3
Coffee from the Kona district of Hawaii, where Samuel Ruggles brought Brazilian cuttings in 1828. 4
A coffee variety that originated in Ethiopia. Panama made it famous at auction. 9
Gesha on today's listUS standards require at least 97% of the caffeine to be removed; the EU standard is 99.9% caffeine-free by mass. Ludwig Roselius invented the first commercial process in 1903. 6
Nestlé launched Nescafé in Switzerland on 1 April 1938, made to use up a coffee surplus. 7
The variety behind those auction records, on today's US list.
Early coffee history mixes records with legend. Where a story is a legend, we say so; dates follow the sources above.
