The History of the Word Coffee

The homeland of the coffee bean, Ethiopia, the province Kefa, is well known. Less certain is the name coffee and its evolution. Among scholars there are two theories. The first starts in the province Kefa, from which the name coffee was created. The second theory is somewhat more interesting. One assumes that this word was created from Arabic. In Turkish, wine is „qavah“ or „kahve“. Since followers of the Muslim faith are allowed to drink neither alcohol, it is assumed that coffee was then named after wine, as it made the soul happy but did not confuse the senses. Proof for this is that the prophet Mohammed supposedly drank coffee, so we can assume that it was known to Arabia.

The coffee bean gets his name from the Arabic word „Bun“, which can mean the coffee plant or the fruits. Also taken into consideration is their similarity to beans.

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