Chronology of coffee:

6th Century:

• Coffee arrives in Yemen (ancient Arabia).
• Cultivation of the coffee tree begins.

13th Century:

• Coffee is roasted for the first time.

15th Century:

• The first Arab chronicles appear in which reference is made to coffee's curative properties.

16th Century:

• Coffee becomes a popular beverage in Egypt.

17th Century:

• Coffee arrives in Europe for the first time. Coffee was held in special esteem by Muslims as they were forbidden to drink alcohol. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, coffee houses sprung up in the larger cities, such as Cairo, Aleppo and Damascus and the consumption of coffee became an intrinsic part of social and business etiquette. European merchants who did business in the Mediterranean lands regularly drank coffee while they negotiated deals and gradually, from about 1615 on, coffee started to enter Europe via the trading ports of Venice, Genoa and Marseilles.
• The first coffee tree arrives in Holland from the Arabian port of Mocha.
• The proliferation of cafés throughout Europe, where intellectuals of every kind and discipline gather.

18th Century:

• The first coffee plant crosses the Atlantic to America (Martinique).
• The first coffee plantation is established in Brazil.
• British colonists introduce Jamaica to coffee production, while the Spanish do likewise in Colombia.

19th Century:

• Coffee growing begins in Mexico.

20th Century:

• The cultivation of coffee gets underway in El Salvador, Central and Eastern Africa, Hawaii, Vietnam and California, greatly enhancing the quality and significance of this form of agricultural activity.

21st Century:

• Today more than 20 million people in the world are gainfully employed in activities associated with the coffee trade.
• Coffee ranks second only to oil in the world-wide league table of most important products.