Throughout history, coffee has been at the centre of controversy. It has been
responsible for social upheaval and mass slavery to political revolutions and
endless medical discussions.

1000 – A gentleman known by the name of Avicenna, writes in a medical encyclopaedia about the medical properties of coffee. He called coffee
bunchum.

1554 – A couple of Syrian entrepreneurs open the first coffeehouse in the world in Constantinople.

1600 – A Muslim pilgrim named Baba Budan, brings coffee to India.

1616 – Dutch merchants steal a coffee plant from Mocha and bring it safely back to Holland.

1645 – A few coffee shops, referred to as coffee houses open in Venice.

1658 – The Dutch start large scale coffee cultivation in Ceylon. (This sparked extensive slavery practices)

1668 – Coffee reaches North America.

1675 – King Charles issues a proclamation to close down all coffee houses in London due to fears of political unrest.

1679 – Hamburg, Germany sees the opening of its first coffee house.

1696 – The first coffee house in New York opens its doors. The café is called “The King’s Arms”.

1706 – Dutch growers in Java send their first crop of beans and a coffee plant to Amsterdam. The coffee plant is carefully planted in the
Amsterdam botanical gardens.

1730 – The English start coffee cultivation in
Jamaica.

1777 – King Frederick the Great of Prussia pronounces coffee illegal in an attempt to bolster sagging beer sales.

1869 – Coffee leaf rust is noticed in Ceylon. In the following ten years this disease causes major damage and wipes out almost all plantations in Ceylon and India.

1904 – The espresso machine is invented by Fernando Illy. (An invention that forever changed the way people drink coffee around the world.)

1930 – In an attempt to raise international coffee prices, Brazil destroys 78 million bags of coffee over a 15 year period.

1938 – Technicians working for Nestlé invent instant coffee. (Another invention that, unfortunately, forever changed the way people drink coffee around the world.)

1971 – The first Starbucks coffee shop opens in Seattle. (Today there are more than 10 000 stores world wide.)

1973 – The first Fair Trade coffee is imported to Europe from South America. (Fair Trade is a non profit movement which was established to ensure
that coffee farmers receive fair prices for their harvests. )

1975 – Coffee prices reach record highs due to major crop losses in Brazil as a result of severe frost.

1989 – International coffee prices reach record lows as a result of collapsing trade agreements.

1990’s – Coffee as a drink increases in popularity world wide and various coffee chain stores are established. These stores generally promote the
consumption of gourmet or speciality coffees.

2000’s – Coffee farmers world wide live in poverty as coffee prices reach record lows. Many coffee producing countries are affected, as entire economies depend on coffee exports. The Fair Trade coffee movement aims to rectify this by protecting farmers and ensuring fair prices for green coffee producers.