The history of coffee originates from the humble seed of a woody perennial evergreen plant of the Rubiaceae family, genus Coffea, from which it takes its name. It grows in Asia and America at the longitudes between the two Tropics and there are two main types. The most common, and least bitter, type is Coffea Arabica and represents about 75% of world production (Asia, Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Equador and Perù). The other 25% is made up of Coffea Robusta and is grown in Brazil, Indonesia and Africa. It is more resistant than the Arabica, but it is also more bitter and full-bodied.

There are many legends about the appearance on the scene of this extraordinary drink. The most popular being that a goat hearder noticed the energizing effects when his flock nibbled on the bright red berries of a certain bush. They had become 'jumping goats', full of energy. He chewed on the fruit himself and his boost of energy prompted him to bring the berries to an Islamic holy man in a nearby monastery. But the holy man disapproved of their use and threw them into a fire, from which an enticing aroma billowed. The roasted beans were raked from the embers, ground up, and dissolved in hot water, yielding the world's first ever cup of coffee. It wasn't until the year 1000 AD that people began to regularly boil them in order to make an aromatic drink. Seeing as the Koran strictly forbids the faithful from drinking alcohol, the Arabs began to drink coffee in ever increasing quantities, even in the face of attempts to forbid the dark drink which, in the beginning, was considered on par with alcohol as an instrument of perdition and sin.

Arab medical records dating to the 1400's show that coffee grains began to be used for therapeutic and medicinal purposes around that time.

In the second half of the 16th century the first cafés, reserved for important persons, opened in Constantinople and it did not take long before these exclusive clubs became the preferred meeting places for diplomats, artists, authors and intellectuals.