With the arrival of autumn, the season of hot drinks has also begun, so Kifli has gathered some interesting facts about the origins of the three most popular beverages.

Monks brewed the first coffee based on a shepherd's idea

Today, coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, right after oil. Who would have thought that this entire success story began with an Ethiopian goat herder? Let's jump back in time to the 14th century when our protagonist made a historical discovery: he realized that his goats always became lively after grazing on the fruit of a certain bush. The shepherd had an idea, picked some of the fruit, and took a basketful to the nearby monastery to have it brewed. It turned out that these goats knew something, because from then on, the ceremonies in the monastery were started with a drink brewed from these roasted beans.

The first tea leaf from a Buddhist monk's eyelid

Compared to this, the two ancient legends associated with the discovery of tea are somewhat more elevated. According to one version, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, discovered tea while meditating in the garden, and a tea leaf fell into his cup. The other version tells that when Bodhidharma, the legendary Buddhist monk, cut off his eyelids to prevent sleep from overcoming him during meditation, the first tea buds sprouted where his eyelids fell.
Let's not forget the very historical fact that tea laid the foundation for the American War of Independence. The precursor to this was when, in 1773, the Boston settlers—who were not represented in the British Parliament—were so outraged by the taxes imposed on tea that they protested by dumping 342 containers of 45 tons of tea into the Boston Harbor, causing a damage of one and a half million pounds at the exchange rate of the time.

People were once killed for cocoa

When you sip hot chocolate or cocoa, remember that this is the original form of chocolate. Initially, it was consumed only as a drink, not as a snack, by the Mayans. They discovered the cocoa bean 2,500 years ago (eternal thanks to them for this), which they dried and crushed, then mixed into their drink. It was so important in their lives that it was even used as currency. When the Aztecs later conquered their empire, they further developed this wonderful drink with some extras: chili, vanilla, and anise. And the most astonishing part: they attributed such divine power to chocolate that they offered human sacrifices to their god, thanking them for their favorite drink. So next time you say you'd kill for a mug of hot chocolate, remember that the Aztecs took this quite literally.