Every morning I thank Ethiopia

for both my son and for coffee...Without Ethiopia where would we all be every morning? Staring at empty coffee pots wishing we had something to help us wake up. We watched Modern Marvels on the History channel Wednesday night. It was about the history of coffee. Ethiopia is the only place where coffee grows wild. It was considered a weed until Kaldi's goats ate the berries and were acting all hopped up. Kaldi turned the berries/beans into a paste that the Ethiopians then used--this was 600AD. In about 1000AD coffee berries/beans made their way to Yemen and in Yemen was born the first commerical growing of coffee--until then it had only grown wild and in Ethiopia. From Yemen coffee spread. It wasn't until the 1600's that coffee made its way to England. Interesting. All coffee plants around the world have their origins in the Oromo regin of Ethiopia. An interesting parallel between coffee and the human gene as well--as Ethiopia is considered by many the place of the birth of mankind. I can't think of a better Eden than a place where coffee grows wild.

Thank you Ethiopia. My life wouldn't be the same without you.