What Was Coffee Originally Called? (Solved!)

Coffee as a word comes from the beginning of when coffee was first discovered, originally being known as ‘qahwah’, and then transforming with each new language as it traveled across the world to eventually be known as coffee in North America. 

This article will look at the roots of coffee’s original names, their history, and how ‘qahwah’ became known as coffee.

What is the History Behind the Original name of Coffee, ‘Qahwah’?

‘Qahwah’ actually encompasses the first recipes of a coffee-like beverage, and then what would be known as proper coffee we see in daily life. Qahwah has many legends of discovery, but one of the most popular is of a goat herder investigating the excitable energy of his goats.

A goat herder named Kaldi tried the berries he saw his goats eat, and found that, just like his goats, he too was full of energy. He told a monk about his findings, and when the monk tried them, he found he could easily stay up all night in prayer. Slowly, this information of these energizing berries spread.

Many recipes began to take shapes, such as a protein bar made from ground-up berries and animal fats. There is also a recipe for wine-like coffee fruit juice, using fermented pulp. And another drink recipe, used sometime around 1000 AD, was made from the entire fruit, pulp, husk, and beans.

It was many centuries later, in the 13th century, that roasting coffee beans became discovered. This is how coffee in the form we know it today was initially found.

Word of this unique drink began to travel throughout the middle-east, circulating the Arabian peninsula.

What is the History of ‘Qahwah’ in the Arabian Peninsula?

Roasting became the main form of drinking coffee, as its powers of extra energy and alertness for long hours of prayer were more potent in a roasted form. This also uncovered the best way to prepare the beans, by parching and boiling. This allowed the Arabians to dominate the coffee market.

In the 15th century, coffee had spread across the Yemeni area of Arabia, and in the 16th century, the large nations of Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Persia all knew about coffee and traded it in large quantities.

The first versions of cafes, known as ‘qahveh khaneh’ coffee houses, began popping up all over the middle eastern countries, and people of all backgrounds flocked to them, earning the houses ‘Schools of the Wise’ due to the fervent intellectual conversation while sipping coffee.

How Did the Word for Coffee, ‘Qahwah’, Change to ‘Koffi’?

The Turkish people began calling ‘qahwah’ a new word: ‘kahveh’. From there, the Dutch people discovered coffee in the 16th century, opening their own coffee estate in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, and then Java. They called this drink a new name: ‘koffi’.

Then the French began growing coffee in the Caribbean, followed by the Spanish growing coffee in Central America, and the Portuguese people growing coffee in Brazil.

Shortly after, European coffee shops began their construction all over Italy and France, bringing a new level of popularity to coffee.

What Struggles did ‘Koffi’ Experience in Europe?

In Venice, 1615, the church grew concerned that coffee was evil if it produced beforehand unknown and strange effects in people who consumed it. Due to the increasing heat of the arguments before coffee lovers and those who disagreed, the Pope at the time, Pope Clement VIII intervened.

After tasting coffee, the Pope concluded that the drink was so delicious, he would baptize it. Coffee was thus expunged from any suspicion.

Coffee shops shortly after saw increased growth, being constructed in the large cities of England, France, Austria, Germany, and Holland.

In England specifically, ‘penny universities’ began to take form, popular due to the fact that for only a penny, one could purchase a coffee and engage in intellectual conversation.

In the 17th century, London had over 300 coffee houses, which attracted merchants, shippers, artists and brokers alike. Coffee houses became the first form of internet, where if you wanted to know the news of the day, you simply stopped in the shop for a coffee and talked with the crowd gathered.

How did ‘Koffi’ Turn into ‘Coffee’, the Word We Use Today?

Sometime during the coffee infatuation period coming over Europe, coffee’s name was changed to what we now know and love.

How did Coffee Reach the New World?

England sent exports of coffee to New Amsterdam, later known as New York. However, America’s coffee-drinking did not gain popularity until the Boston Tea Party in 1773, where the switch from tea to coffee was not simply a change of beverage, but a way to express how one felt about the political situation at that time.

Coffee and coffee houses began to appear in America but only took off after King George III tried to impose high taxes on tea on their colonists, instigating the entire Boston Tea Party, the switch to coffee, and the revolt of the Civil War.

During the Civil War, soldiers used coffee as a stimulant, causing exports of coffee to the front lines to not only be a necessity, but a pleasant diversion from all the fighting to enjoy a sip of refreshing coffee.

Teddy Roosevelt is also said to have given Maxwell’s House their famous slogan, ‘Good to the last drop’ when he was served coffee at Andrew Jackson’s home in Tennessee.

How Did Coffee Become the Modern Drink We Know Today?

In the 1800s, coffee was worldwide, and new business ventures began, such as a new self-emptying coffee bean roaster. This invention, made by John and Charles Arbuckle in 1864, was able to sell pre-roasted coffee beans in pound-sized paper bags.

The pre-roasted coffee, called ‘Arosia’, was sold to cowboys, and the success was minced by James Folger, who began selling coffee to Californian gold miners. Other big coffee brands began to be formed in this time as well,  such as Maxwell House and Hills Brothers.

Coffee became the everyday person’s favorite beverage, replacing beer and wine in the mornings. It was noticed that those who drank coffee instead of wine in the mornings were more productive in their work.