They say that coffee began with a goatherd called Kaldi, in the highlands of Ethiopia, a very long time ago. One evening his goats did not come home quietly. They were leaping and dancing in the moonlight, wide awake, and Kaldi could not make them stop.
He soon found the reason. The goats had been eating the red berries of a bush he had never noticed before. Kaldi tried a few himself, and he felt a sudden rush of energy. He ran all the way to the monastery and told the monks what he had found.
The head monk listened carefully. Then he shook his head. "This is the work of the devil," he said, and he threw the berries into the fire. But as they burned, a rich, wonderful smell spread through the room. The monks pulled the roasted beans out of the embers, crushed them and poured hot water over them. And that, so the legend says, was the first cup of coffee. The monks drank it, and that night they prayed without falling asleep.