History
The earliest evidence about the coffee plant and the invention of the beverage dates back to 8th century, in Arab countries. The legend tells that in Persia the Archangel Gabriel took Mohammed a cup of coffee from the sky, allowing him to defeat 40 men. According to another legend, an Ethiopian shepherd together with a monk gathered and boiled for the first time coffee beans, having realized that his goats were unquiet after having eaten them.
In the 15th century, the beverage, which had been used as a medicine so far, war already popular in Arab countries. It was used in Turkey, where the first Coffee-House in the world was founded. During the 17th century it also reached Europe thanks to Venetians merchants, although the Catholic Church at the beginning was opposed to its use. The first European “Coffee-Shop” was founded in Venice, the Caffé Florian of Piazza San Marco.
In 1727 a Brasilian officer who was visiting French Guyana received a coffee plant as a gift: later on that will make of Brazil the leading exporter in the world.
The “social” feature coffee has today was given nonetheless by Anglosaxons and American people: the first Coffeehouse of USA was founded in New York, in the old location for the Stock Exchange, this means that the coffeehouse was a place for relaxing but also for doing business.
The expresso-Italian style, such as we nowadays know it, and the way we consume it were introduced by Gaggia in 1946, the inventor of the modern coffee-machine.