Coffee: A Brew That Shaped Civilization

How Coffee Changed the World: From African Forests to the Heart of Global Ideas

By CLICA – Climate & Coffee

Before it filled porcelain cups in Paris or powered creative nights in Brooklyn, coffee was a wild shrub growing quietly in the misty highlands of East Africa. From the forests of Ethiopia to the courts of Mecca, from Ottoman gatherings to Enlightenment coffeehouses, coffee didn’t just travel across space—it transformed minds, shaped societies, and helped build the modern world.

This is the story of how coffee became more than a drink. It became an idea.

The African Birthplace of Coffee

The legend begins in Ethiopia, where a goatherd named Kaldi noticed his animals dancing with energy after eating the red cherries of a mysterious shrub. This shrub was Coffea arabica—the species that still powers the global coffee trade today.

Whether Kaldi existed or not, the truth is that coffee’s first home was in the wild. Local communities in Ethiopia chewed the berries or brewed them into energizing mixtures. Its stimulating effects were known, respected, and often tied to rituals and spiritual endurance.

But it wasn’t until coffee crossed the Red Sea that it began its global ascent.

Kaldi walks through a coffee forest in Ethiopia.

Women preparing a coffee tea.

The Middle East: Coffee as Spiritual Companion and Social Catalyst

By the 15th century, coffee was being cultivated and brewed in Yemen, where Sufi mystics drank it to stay alert during long nights of prayer. From its use in Islamic spiritual practices, coffee spread into daily life.

15th-century in Yemen

In Mecca, Cairo, Istanbul, and beyond, coffeehouses—called qahveh khaneh—began to appear. These spaces became centers of intellectual life, where poetry was recited, philosophy debated, chess played, and politics discussed.

Ottoman-era coffeehouse in Istanbul

Coffeehouses became so influential that rulers feared their potential. Some tried to ban them outright, calling them centers of rebellion. But coffee couldn’t be stopped—it had become too powerful a social and intellectual force.

Arrival in Europe: The Enlightenment’s Secret Ingredient

Coffee entered Europe in the 17th century, brought by Venetian merchants, Ottoman diplomats, and colonial traders. It was at first considered exotic—and even dangerous. Religious leaders debated whether it should be banned or baptized.

Paris café at the Enlightenment era.

But once it took root, Europe never looked back.

In cities like London, Paris, and Vienna, coffeehouses multiplied. They became known as “penny universities”—for the price of a cup, anyone could access conversation, information, and inspiration.

17th-century London Coffeehouse

Writers, scientists, and revolutionaries gathered around coffee. In Paris, cafés buzzed with the ideas that would fuel the French Revolution. In London, coffeehouses birthed institutions like the London Stock Exchange and Lloyd’s of London.

Coffee helped fuel the Age of Enlightenment—a time when logic, science, and human rights began to reshape the world. It didn’t intoxicate. It stimulated. It sharpened thought. It changed how people communicated, collaborated, and created.

More Than a Drink: A Cultural Technology

Caffeine can improve focus, alertness and energy levels.

Why did coffee matter so much?

Because it arrived at a moment when the world was shifting. Empires were expanding. Cities were growing. Books were being printed. Ideas were moving faster. And coffee offered something new: a space for public dialogue, in which class and rank could (temporarily) dissolve in the steam of a shared drink.

It’s no accident that coffee culture flourished alongside the rise of newspapers, the birth of democracy, and the spread of scientific societies.

Coffee became a cultural technology—an agricultural product that carried with it the ability to organize thought, space, and society.

The Legacy of Coffee Today

Coffee connects us.

We still gather around coffee to connect. In every part of the world, coffeehouses function as modern agora—places of dialogue, creativity, and rest.

But behind every cup lies a deep, complex, and beautiful history—one that connects Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond. A history that shaped not only trade routes and taste buds, but the way we think and live together.

At CLICA, we see coffee as a bridge—between land and culture, climate and consciousness, history and future.

Conclusion: A Brew That Binds Us

The next time you sip your coffee, remember: it’s not just caffeine. It’s connection. It’s centuries of movement, exchange, and transformation. It’s the fuel of rituals, revolutions, and quiet moments of reflection.

And this is only the beginning of the story.

Coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world. 2025.

References

1. Ellis, Markman. The Coffee House: A Cultural History. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004.

2. Hattox, Ralph S. Coffee and Coffeehouses: The Origins of a Social Beverage in the Medieval Near East. University of Washington Press, 1985.

3. Cowan, Brian. The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse. Yale University Press, 2005.

4. Weinberg, Bennett Alan, and Bonnie K. Bealer. The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug. Routledge, 2001.

5. Standage, Tom. A History of the World in 6 Glasses. Walker & Company, 2005.

6. Pendergrast, Mark. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. Basic Books, 2010.