Today we're going to discuss the history of coffee. Although coffee is now grown in over 70 countries, its origins trace back to Ethiopia. Legend has it that a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats became energetic after eating red berries from a certain tree. He reported this to a local monk, who made a drink from the berries and found that it kept him awake during long hours of evening prayer. Coffee then spread to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was first cultivated around the 15th century. By the 16th century, it had reached Persia, Turkey, and North Africa. The first coffee house opened in Constantinople in 1554.