Happy Goat Coffee Co.
The Legend of The Goat

Do you know the origins of your favourite morning pick-me-up? Find out how one shepherd’s carefree mistake led to the world’s most popular beverage ☕️

Once upon a time,

in a far away land called Ethiopia, there lived a young goatherd named Kaldi. He was a very responsible goatherd who took extra good care of his goats. Every day, Kaldi would let his goats graze on the hills that surrounded the village. His goats were very loyal to Kaldi and would always return to him at the end of the day. Most of the villagers thought it foolish of Kaldi to let his goats run loose in the hills.

One evening, the goats did not return home. Kaldi, feeling a little foolish, spent the whole night searching for his goats. As the morning sun rose, Kaldi found himself feeling extremely exhausted. Then, he came upon the goats, dancing and leaping with glee and reckless abandon around a beautiful shiny, dark green leafed shrub with bright red berries. Within a few moments, he connected the goats gamboling behaviour with the bright red berries! Realizing that the berries were not killing his goat, Kaldi decided to sample the berries himself. In no time at all, he and his goats were dancing together with great joy around the green leafed shrub.

A wise man who was sleepily walking on his way to prayer rubbed his eyes at the sight of Kaldi and his goats dancing around the berried, green leafed shrub. This man was an imam, a monk, a learned man, a curious monk who then gathered the berries for himself.  Returning home, he examined them. After great effort and experimentation, he roasted them, boiled them and drank the brew. Later, he shared this wonderful, magical drink with fellow imams/monks. Over time (centuries), demand for this special drink spread from place to place, eventually turning up in every corner of  the world as a sought- after beverage.

Gee, I wonder if Kaldi is still dancing with his goats...

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