According to an ancient legend, the ancestors of the current "Oromo" (African ethnic people) were the first to discover the energizing potential of coffee. Nevertheless, no historical traces have ever been found that could confirm this hypothesis, let alone in the period before the seventeenth century.
However, based on this story, the discovery of coffee could be attributed to "Kaldi", a shepherd of Ethiopian origins who lived in the 9th century BC; he would have noticed an evident state of excitement in his goats that fed on the fruits of coffee. The device was reported only in 1671 within an apocryphal text but, despite the uncertainty of the historical period, it is shown that the first domestic coffee plants were cultivated in Harar (in Ethiopia).
Other stories, reported in the manuscript "Abd-Al-Kadir", attribute the discovery of coffee to "Sheikh Omar". According to ancient history, Omar was known for his healing powers through prayer. Exiled by Mocha, the port city of Yemen, he lived in a cave in the desert, near "Ousab". Hungry, Omar chewed berries that grew on shrubs near his home, but found them excessively bitter. He then tried to toast the seeds to improve their taste, but in vain. He then attempted to boil, to soften the beans and, from this last process, he obtained a brown liquid with a fragrant and pleasant aroma. When he drank it, Omar felt revitalized and energized for many days. Thanks to the expedient of the "miracle drug", Omar again reached Mocha and was thus sanctified. From Ethiopia, the coffee plant was introduced into the Arab world through Egypt and Yemen.
