Dylan and Jamie from Mokador gave a talk to our guests about the history of Coffee and the History behind Mokador what makes it so different from the rest.
There are many legends about the discovery of coffee's stimulating effects Dylan told us. One of the oldest tells of a young goatherd in Ethiopia in around 850 AD.
He had noticed that after eating a certain kind of berry, his goats would become particularly lively.
Monks then tried the fruit but were so disappointed by the bitter flavour that they threw it in the fire. Soon, a delicious aroma was wafting around their nostrils.
The monks were so curious that they used the roasted fruits to create a brew, which they saw as a gift from God because it helped them to stay awake half the night.
The culture of coffee-drinking goes back to the 11th century. It was then that coffee was first imported to Arabia from its original home in Ethiopia. The Persians were enraptured by the invigorating effects of this new "wine of Islam" because real wine was strictly forbidden to Muslims. The word "coffee" comes from the ancient Arabic "qahwah".