According to legend an Arabian goatherd named Kaldi found his goats dancing joyously around a dark green leafed shrub with bright red cherries in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Kaldi soon determined that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and after trying the cherries himself, he learned of their powerful effect. The stimulating effect was then exploited by monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer and distributed to other monasteries around the world.
Despite the appeal of such a legend, recent botanical evidence indicates that Coffee Arabica originated on the plateaus of central Ethiopia and some how must have been brought to Yemen where it was cultivated since the 6th century.
It wasn't until 1615 that the first shipment of coffee arrived in Europe at Venice (then European trading headquarters) from Turkey, and coffee houses quickly spread through Italy and to Vienna, then on to most of Europe.
In 1893 coffee was introduced to the British colonial countries Kenya and Tanganyika in Africa, only a few hundred kilometers south of where it had originated, in Ethiopia.
Coffee is now grown in most parts of the tropical zone, mostly at an elevation of 800 to 1000 meters, where the plant thrives best. The Robusta plant though, being hardier, can be grown at lower elevations.