In
refering to the situation which prompted him to comment on the '
...birth place of coffee...'the writer describes the moment as follows.
''I
am an Ethiopian and a permanent resident of the city. I work and live
here.During one of the months before the rainy season, I was at the
downtown of the western part of Addis, which was away from my residence
on Jimma road. As usual I visited one of the "shiro bet.' serving
traditional vegeterian food for my lunch,and went on looking for a spot
where to have my lunch time coffee. I am familiar with the open air,
outdoor or kiosks serving traditional brew coffee for some time now. In
all my visits to one after the other, what I noticed was that the
history and traditions of the coffee ceremony and all that surrounding
it is skewed, tagged with what seems concocted and far away from the
generally accepted 'myth' i.e. the relative truth that coffee was first
discovered and brewed in Jimma Area- what is now Southwestern
Ethiopia.....''
This
condensed, and easy to read paper argues that the recent emerging traditional posters,scripts and other written materials depicting coffee
and its historical
attributes with tags are ....... slowly , but surely sliding away,,,,,,,, from
the acceptable truth on the origin and traditions of coffee.
in
reference to relatively authentic sources, It reports that, If
anything to go by coffee is first discovered by the highland people of
the now Southwestern Ethiopia (OROMIA/KAFFA).It is first brewed and
served by them and distributed further away by the traders and
travelers. Besides it states that the culture of coffee production, and
traditional coffee ceremony has stood the test of time in these
area.For example the Oromia region currently produces around 2/3rd of the
total coffee production in Ethiopia.
Many
Literature reported that , in a similar move to some European religious
institutions, coffee was also banned by the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church some time before the 18th century.The clergy
were of the opinion that it was a Muslim drink. However, in
the second half of the 19th century, Ethiopian attitudes softened
towards
coffee drinking, and its consumption spread rapidly between 1880 and
1886;
according to Richard Pankhurst, "this was largely due to Emperor
Menelik,
who himself drank it, and to Abuna Matewos who did much to dispel the
belief of
the clergy that it was a Muslim drink."
Thus, the paper
adds that , If coffee and its origin has to be linked to any of the
monolithic religions, it is to ISLAM, and the any other traditional
beliefs/ religions of those pioneering people.
It
follows up by discussing the R&D potentials in terms of natural
talents. It argues, these people were naturally born scientists with
quests,and local knowledge.They were indeed. observers of their vicinity,experimenters and
inventors. The paper refers to many sources,of which the below is one.
Anthony Watson wrote in his diary "Beans on the Bike writes as as follows:
".....In an attempt to separate reality from myth, I
spoke to a number of people who said that coffee was first used by the Oromo
tribes people. By way of preparation, the ground beans were mixed with butter
or fat to form a ‘chewing gum’ that could be carried easily. It was then taken
to help sustain them in covering long distances on foot to graze their cattle
and no doubt, on the battlefield. This was the portable precursor to the
Oromiya speciality – Buna Quala – arguably the world’s first ever energy drink.In many respects, I think it’s a good thing that Kaldi’s
reputed discovery continues to remain shrouded in the mists of antiquity. It’s
all part of the bean’s magic. Chasing ghosts? Chasing goats more like… Long
live Kaldi!
The writer also discusses some of the recent comments made by individuals in the business as to their business model, and its sources. The product is on of the main aspects of the 4P's of the product mix Whatever was said,it doesn't matter as the product was first developed by these highland people in around the 9th century.
Note that it was the 9th century, not 19th. They may have been talking about the distribution((Place),or Promotion,or Price model. The writer did not know. .As a result, he argues as the coffee
business model mainly depends on the product, it generally owes a lot to these people and the area as the major
product & process development, were the results of their
ingenuity.
....If that is so, can you then say that you entirely/generally copied your original business model from somewhere else? No. I don't think so
This was what I was expecting us all to see.
It is our moral and intellectual duty not to coerce with the almost universally accepted truth.
Let's keep everything where it belongs
COMING SOON!!!
Please first see the following facts
and further readings
copied from
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coffee...
…..AND MANY MORE IN THE FOLLOW UP
REFERENCES