LEGENDS AND MYTHS
The legend of the goatherd
The best-known legend has it that an Ethiopian goatherd, whose name is often given as Kaldi, discovered coffee.
He observed that his goat herd was very lively and active after the goats ate red fruit from a bush.
Then he complained to the neighboring monks because his flock no longer wanted to sleep at night.
The monks examined the berries and experimented and boiled down. The stimulating effect became known in this way and the predecessor of coffee quickly spread in southwest Ethiopia.
The legend of the oriental storytellers
Oriental storytellers report that the archangel Gabriel appeared to the terminally ill prophet Mohammed with a bowl of steaming, dark liquid. After enjoying the drink, Mohammed suddenly recovered, regained his spirits and with this heavenly strengthening he was able to bring together a huge Islamic empire that the world had never seen before.
The legend of the boy Omar
Another legend is about a boy named Omar, a member of an Islamic mystical order. Slandered and convicted of innocence, he was banished to a stone desert. Half starved and at the end of his strength, he tried the red fruits of an unknown bush. Miraculously recovered, he returned to the city and brought news of the magical fruit. Everyone wanted to taste this fruit, Omar was showered with honors and the caliph even gave him a palace.
