Nothing like a “Cuppa Joes at Granny’s”

Written on October 6 2020
Steven J Brown


Not sure about you but, here at Granny Mouse Country House and Spa, we all love our cuppa Joes to kick start the glorious mornings in the heart of in the Midlands.

People drink coffee the world over and there’s even an international day to celebrate the bean at the start of October.

Coffee, according to historical records, originated in Ethiopia centuries ago. Since then, it has been scattered across the world and comes in many presentations – from the brew itself, to candles, medicine and even as a currency in ancient times.

In Ethiopia, according to legend, a goat herder named Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans. The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that, after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night. Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery who concocted a drink using these special berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer.

The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.

As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian Peninsula, coffee began a journey which would bring these beans across the globe.

Coffee made its way through the north into Yemen in the 15 Century where the beans arrived by the name of “Mocha.”

Shortly after, they became well known in Egypt, Persia, and Turkey as “wine of Araby” and coffee houses that went by the names of “Schools of the Wise” started to open.

Next, Arabia became the gatekeeper for coffee and these beans became part of a large-scale coffee farming operation in Southern India.

In 1560, coffee made its way through Europe and quickly became popular - until Pope Clement VIII decided that the drink must be satanic!

After further careful inspection, he gave into the glory of the beverage and declared it a Christian drink.

As the 1600s rolled on and coffee houses sprung up all over Europe, the beans followed the wave of colonization and found themselves in America.

Today, not even the most jaw dropping tech can have the same effect as a good cuppa and, no matter how you take it, the magical bean energizes, warms your cockles, refreshes you and is a perfect excuse for a good chilled out chat with your bestie on the deck at Granny Mouse.