Allegedly, sometime in the 9th century (801 to 900 AD), an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats acting differently. They ate the berries or cherries, depending on who’s telling it, from a tree, and they became full of energy. Kaldi tried it for himself and found he also had energy.
Let Sleeping Monks Lie
Somehow, this news made its way to a monk or was traded to one, and became instrumental in keeping the other monks awake during long prayers. Encyclopedia Britannica says it was a Sufi monk who was the first to brew coffee sometime during the 15th century, from 1401 to 1500 (Myhrvold, 2025).
Forever Associated With Coffee
Fast forward to the year 2025 in the United States, where my students have decided that “Ms. Coffee” is a fitting name for me. Quite honestly, I can’t think of a better one. These humans always have me in stitches.
Satan’s Brew
In the 16th century, Pope Clement VIII tasted it. He allegedly said, “This Satan’s drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it” (Catholic Coffee). Apparently, since the drink came from a muslim land, this had made it evil in their eyes. Pope Clement VIII then baptized coffee, and everything was okay for a while.
Coffee does look mysteriously dark and, therefore, could be associated with something evil. Beyond that, I personally don’t see anything evil about it. That doesn’t prevent coffee from being blamed for impotence in the 18th century (Nuwer, 2014). European women had to place the blame on something, I suppose.
There’s so much more…
The richness of coffee’s history is immense. There is also no single origin story for coffee, much like there isn’t one for the hamburger (a discussion for another time). I found the fact that it required a baptism and approval from the Pope to be hilarious, so I just had to share. I’ll report back when I finally finish reading Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast.
References
Catholic Coffee. (n.d.). Coffee and Pop Clement VIII: The pope who “baptized” the devil’s drink. https://www.catholiccoffee.com/coffee-and-pope-clement-viii-devils-drink/?srsltid=AfmBOorTCFcs2zkppN1HV5s-A7yY7uOxxm8rAOzV-7xr43at6_UcWuxn
Myhrvold, N. (2025 April 29). History of coffee. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-coffee
National Coffee Association. (2025). History of coffee. https://www.aboutcoffee.org/origins/history-of-coffee/
Nuwer, R. (2014 November 13). Europeans thought coffee was satanic. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/past-coffee-has-been-called-devil-accused-making-men-impotent-and-rejected-being-inferior-beer-180953309/
Witch Psych 
Leave a comment