Coffee was discovered sometime before the ninth century in Ethiopia by an Ethiopian goatherd; and the story goes as follows:

A goatherd was napping one day while his goats had set out to find grazing to eventually stumble upon the coffee plant in the southwestern region of Ethiopia known as Kefa.  Upon waking, the goatherd spent a while looking for his goats to eventually find them snacking on the stimulant cherries of the coffee plant. He then helped himself to the bright red fruit as a matter of curiosity and decided that it was something worth taking home.

The first experiment of coffee was then carried out by boiling the cherries in water and drinking the blend. Its stimulant nature made coffee an instant sensation among the ranks of the faithful in this predominantly Orthodox Christian society.  Most people at that time liked the stimulant nature of the plant on the grounds that it kept them alert and lively, thereby making them able to maintain wakefulness during evening prayers.

The word coffee was then derived from Kefa - the region in Ethiopia where coffee was discovered first.