Following coffee through the centuries. Second in a series.
Sometime around the sixth century, the coffee beans were taken to an area now known as Yemen. The Arabs began growing the trees and first producing medicine, then as a beverage. Fermenting the pulp of the cherries were used to produce wine. They also boiled the unroasted beans to make a drink.
In the late 13th century, the Arabs began roasting coffee beans over an open fire. They discovered the aroma and taste of coffee by first roasting, crushing then boiling the beans with water. They also fermented the coffee
The Arabs did their best to maintain a monopoly on the coffee. However, in the 16th century, coffee was found in nearby countries of Turkey, Syria and Egypt. Around 1650, coffee beans were secretly taken to India.