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Coffee: The word coffee drink is derived from the Arabic word kahwah, and traces its origin to the Arabic and Amharic languages. The coffee bean in Arabic is called bunn and the word bunn in Eritrea means “wine of the bean”. By associating the dark brown color of the coffee drink to the wine, Kahwat al-bunn in Arabic, therefore, gives the meaning of drinking wine of the bean. If you learn the geography and culture of that region you will realize the connectivity and the closeness of the people of the area.
From the Muslim world and from the early days of the Ottoman Empire, coffee spread to Italy and from there coffee was introduced to the rest of Europe. “Coffee became more widely accepted after it was deemed a Christian beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600”, despite appeals from other parts of Christendom to ban the “Muslim drink.”
© Copyright 1999 United Intertrade, Inc.
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