Spreading to Neighboring Countries
Slowly, knowledge of this new, energizing drink – used mainly to aid concentration and alertness during worship – spread to neighboring countries. Initially, Somali merchants exported coffee beans out of Ethiopia to Yemen, where it was soon taken to Egypt. By the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, northern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Persia, Turkey, and south India.
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In as little as 100 years, coffee had become established as a sought-after commodity throughout a large part of the world. Plantations were soon established, with many communities and economies becoming reliant on it as an export crop. Coffee reached Italy next, then the rest of Europe, before it was transported to the East Indies and the Americas by the Dutch.
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