Kaldi was the name of a legendary goatherd who is credited for discovering the coffee in 850 CE, according to popular legend, after which such crop entered the Islamic world and then the rest of the world.1
Story
Kaldi is described to be an Ethiopian or Arab goatherd.234 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.56
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 century7
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.8910
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.11
Influence
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.12 The largest coffee chain in Ethiopia is called Kaldi's Coffee.
References
References
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- Colonna-Dashwood, Maxwell (7 September 2017). The Coffee Dictionary: An A-Z of coffee, from growing & roasting to brewing & tasting. Octopus. ISBN 978-1-78472-302-6.
Kaldi, an Arab Ethiopian goatherd, is said to have found his goats dancing in the forest in south-west Ethiopia sometime in the ninth century.
- Driem, George L. van (14 January 2019). The Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-39360-8.
In Ukers' book, a young Arabian goatherd named Kaldi, afflicted with melancholy, followed the example of his frolicking goats and ate the coffee berries from the trees.
- Brookshier, Frank (1 June 2001). The Burro. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3338-6.
Another tale and one that is commonly accepted is the story of a ninth-century Arab goatherd named Kaldi.
- Myhrvold, Nathan (11 September 2023). "Coffee". www.britannica.com.
One of many legends about the discovery of coffee is that of Kaldi, an Arab goatherd who was puzzled by the strange antics of his flock
- Colonna-Dashwood, Maxwell (7 September 2017). The Coffee Dictionary: An A-Z of coffee, from growing & roasting to brewing & tasting. Octopus. ISBN 978-1-78472-302-6.
- van Driem, George L. (2019). "Interlude: Coffee and Chocolate". The Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day (PDF). Brill. p. 39. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
In Ukers' book, a young Arabian goatherd named Kaldi, afflicted with melancholy, followed the example of his frolicking goats and ate the coffee berries from the trees.
- Kanarek, Robin B. (29 July 2014). Nutrition and Behavior: New Perspectives. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4684-6596-9.
Kaldi , an Arabian goatherd . Kaldi's goats would occasionally wander away to the mountains
- Myhrvold, Nathan (2 December 2025). "coffee". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
One of many legends about the discovery of coffee is that of Kaldi, an Arab goatherd who was puzzled by the strange antics of his flock.
- 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.
- "The History of Coffee". National Coffee Association USA. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- Driem, George L. van (14 January 2019). The Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. BRILL. p. 484. ISBN 978-90-04-39360-8.
Of current relevance today is that there is no mention of any goatherd named 'Kaldi' in any historical source on coffee. This spurious name was propagated by Ukers in his 1922 book on coffee, published by the Tea and Coffee Trading Journal Company in New York.
- Noted by H. F. Nicolai, Der Kaffee und seine Ersatzmittel: Volkshygienische Studie, (Brunswick, 1901) ch. 1 "Geschichtliches über den Kaffee" p. 4 note 1.
- 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. . (in Latin). Typis Michaelis Herculis.
- Ukers, William H. (1935). All About Coffee. Vol. 1. New York: The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company. p. 3.
A certain person who took care of camels, or as others say, of goats, according to the common tradition of the Orientals, complained to the monks of a certain monastery in the Kingdom of Ayaman, that is Arabia Felix.
- Weinberg, Bennett Alan; Bealer, Bonnie K. (2001). The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-92722-2., page 3
- For example, Kaldi - Wholesale Gourmet Coffee Roasters Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company, Kaldi's Coffee House, or a Google search for "Kaldi" Wandering Goat Coffee Company Dancing Goat Cafe Archived 16 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine All accessed 12 September 2006.
Further reading
Further reading
Ukers, William Harrison (1922). All About Coffee. New York: Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company. pp. 14–15.