Kaldi

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title: "Kaldi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["legendary-arab-people", "history-of-coffee"] description: "Legendary Ethiopian goatherd credited with discovering coffee" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaldi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Legendary Ethiopian goatherd credited with discovering coffee ::

Kaldi was a legendary goatherd who is credited for discovering the coffee plant around 850 CE, according to popular legend, after which such crop entered the Islamic world and then the rest of the world.

Story

Kaldi is described to be an Ethiopian or Arab goatherd. In the 9th century a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that when his goats were nibbling on the bright red berries of a certain bush, they became very energetic, Kaldi then chewed on the fruit himself. His exhilaration prompted him to bring the berries to the nearest place of worship in the village. After a brief explanation, the head monk of an Islamic monastery deemed the berries to be the "Devil’s work", and abruptly threw the berries into a nearby fire. Soon thereafter, a sensual and powerful aroma filled the room that could not be overlooked. The head monk, who had thrown them in the fire in the first place, ordered the embers be pulled from the fire and for hot water to be poured over them to preserve the smell. Upon drinking the mixture, they experienced the peaceful, warming, and calming sensation it gave them. The after-effects were just as powerful, as they were able to stay alert and discuss important matters for longer periods of time. The monk then shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.

Name

The herder is unnamed in the earliest account and the name Kaldi appears to be a later invention the twentieth century, propagated by William H. Ukers in the twentieth century

Analysis

The story is probably apocryphal, as it was first related by Antoine Faustus Nairon, a Maronite Roman professor of Oriental languages and author of one of the first printed treatises devoted to coffee, De Saluberrima potione Cahue seu Cafe nuncupata Discurscus (Rome, 1671), which describes a camel or goat herder in the Kingdom of Ayaman, Arabia Felix.

According to The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug: The myth of Kaldi the Ethiopian goatherd and his dancing goats, the coffee origin story most frequently encountered in Western literature, embellishes the credible tradition that the Sufi encounter with coffee occurred in Ethiopia, which lies just across the narrow passage of the Red Sea from Arabia's western coast.

Influence

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/KALDI_Coffee_Farm_Nagoya_Minato.JPG" caption="A KALDI Coffee Farm location in Japan"] ::

In modern times, "Kaldi Coffee," "Kaldi's Coffee," "Dancing Goat," and "Wandering Goat" are popular names for coffee shops and coffee roasting companies around the world.For example, Kaldi - Wholesale Gourmet Coffee Roasters , Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company, Kaldi's Coffee House, or a Google search for "Kaldi" Wandering Goat Coffee Company Dancing Goat Cafe

All accessed 12 September 2006. The largest coffee chain in Ethiopia is called Kaldi's Coffee.

References

References

1. van Driem, George L.. (2019). "The Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day". Brill.
2. Kanarek, Robin B.. (2014-07-29). "Nutrition and Behavior: New Perspectives". Springer.
3. Myhrvold, Nathan. (2025-12-02). "coffee".
4. A similar version after Nairon, without the name of "Kaldi" and sited in Yemen, is recounted in Miguelonne Toussaint-Samat, Anthea Bell, tr. ''A History of Food'' 2nd. ed. 2008, "Coffee in Legend" pp 532-34.
5. "The History of Coffee".
6. Driem, George L. van. (2019-01-14). "The Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day". BRILL.
7. Noted by H. F. Nicolai, ''Der Kaffee und seine Ersatzmittel: Volkshygienische Studie'', (Brunswick, 1901) ch. 1 "Geschichtliches über den Kaffee" p. 4 note 1.
8. Banesio, Fausto Naironio. (1671). "De saluberrima potione cahue, seu cafe nuncupata discursus Fausti Naironi Banesii Maronitae, linguae Chaldaicae, seu Syriacae in almo vrbis archigymnasio lectoris ad eminentiss. ... D. Io. Nicolaum S.R.E. card. ..". Typis Michaelis Herculis.
9. Ukers, William H.. (1935). "All About Coffee". The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company.
10. (2001). "The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug". Psychology Press.

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