Best stories of coffee consumption in historical times? I'm currently coming up with a coffee article, and suddenly I'm stuck trying to fish my words out of the water -- how has civilization come to appreciate coffee, anyhow? Why did pre-modern societies roast and drink it up, considering the notion that coffee is basically bitter? I mean, if Turkish elites roasted it dark and drank it immediately afterwards, wouldn't that be rather tasteless and overly bitter?

Did people drink it for the caffeine? Or did they actually like it for its flavor?

I'd just like to hear out some of your insights and the things you've read on coffee's history and coffee in past societies. I'll research on the things you say, and fish some inspiration.
A story often shared as the origin of coffee consumption is that of Kaldi and The Dancing Goats, which comes out of Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee.

Kaldi was a herder who discovered his goats would become rambunctious after eating the berries and leaves of a plant. That plant turned out to be the coffee plant.

Upon observing this, Kaldi also partook of the plant's berries, finding it gave him extra energy. Some claim people would crush the berries and mix them with animal fat into rudimentary "protein bars".

Eventually they began drying-out the berries and steeping the seeds (beans) in hot water to brew the first coffee to grace the Earth. Thus begins the storied history of coffee consumption!



Another anecdote relating to coffee involves Pope Clement VIII. His advisors urged him to ban the consumption of coffee, likening it to the "Devil's brew" as it was popular among Muslims.

However, after tasting coffee for the first time, the Pope was so impressed he couldn't bare to think of outlawing it. It's said this led to the spread of coffee drinking among Catholics and Italians in general.

This story should be taken with a grain of salt, as whether or not Pope Clement VIII actually said or did what he said, or whether or not his advisors ever broached the topic is a matter of speculation.

That said, there are many more stories surrounding the spread and popularization of coffee. I'll let others add their own stories, as I know there are many more out there :)