Legend has it that dancing goats led to the discovery of coffee. ©iStockphoto.com/Yamtono_Sardi

Today, coffee has become an integral part of culture. Most people drink at least one cup in the morning, and many others sip multiple cups throughout the day. It’s hard to imagine life without coffee, but in fact, there was a time before coffee was discovered. The story of how coffee was discovered is pretty intriguing, and it will probably make you even more appreciative of this staple beverage.

According to popular legend, there was once an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi. One day, he was out in the fields with his goats, when he noticed them prancing and frolicking with seemingly endless energy. Later, he noticed that they had been eating red berries from an unfamiliar tree. Kaldi decided that if the berries made the goats so excited, they might do the same for him — so he ate a few. He felt instantly more energetic, and he started dancing with his goats! Kaldi and his goats had just discovered coffee.

One day, when Kaldi was out in the fields with his goats, a monk passed his herd and asked him how he managed to have so much energy and excitement. Kaldi told the monk about the “magic” beans, and the monk was amazed. The monk tried the beans and was impressed that they woke him up almost instantly.

When the monk took the berries back to the monastery, he and the other monks decided to boil the berries and drink the liquid. Thus, the drink we know as coffee was born. It was probably not as delicious as Hawaiian Ka’u coffee, but it was the beginning of something great.

Visit Hawaii’s Local Buzz to give our Hawaiian Ka’u coffee a try. It will keep you awake, satisfy your taste buds, and maybe even inspire you to dance like a goatherd.