How did coffee get to South America?

The origins of coffee

As with any coffee origin story, even if it involves South America, it has to start at the very beginning, the home of coffee; Ethiopia. Although coffee was indeed discovered in African Ethiopia yes, it should be noted that the first coffee crops were located on the other side of the Red Sea in Yemen. Coffee originated in Africa, although the question can be asked if coffee originated in South America? The main reason for this is the scale of coffee cultivation in South America. The most popular arabica coffee varieties come from equatorial Africa and Madagascar but the largest coffee crops are found on the continent of the Cordillera.

How did coffee get to South America?

Coffee began its journey to South America on the Indonesian island of Java (also known as coffee in the USA). The Dutch bought seedlings from the legendary Baba Budan trees (smuggled in from Yemen) and brought them to Java. Coffee then made its way from present-day Indonesia to Amsterdam, where it was planted in the city's botanical garden. From Amsterdam, thanks to Lieutenant General of Artillery M. Ressou, coffee made its way to the Jardin Botanical Garden of King Louis XIV of France in 1713. Gabriel-Mathieu Francois D'ceus de Clieu, who administered Guadeloupe on behalf of France, learned of the presence of coffee in France. He decided to acquire the plant and test the possibilities of cultivation in the Lesser Antilles. However, despite a personal trip to Paris, the Royal Gardens refused to give him a seedling, Gabriel de Clieu did not give up and stole a seedling at night. After a heroic journey back to Martinique, during which he was forced to share his rations of fresh water with the smuggled seedling, he planted coffee in Martinique. Coffee arrived in South America on a cargo ship straight from France in 1720. After nearly 50 years, Gabriel de Clieu's determination resulted in over 18,000 coffee trees and the Caribbean region soon became a coffee powerhouse. Most of the coffee grown in South America is considered to have come from that smuggled coffee tree in 1720. Why only most and not all of the coffee in South America? Because most likely coffee in the western hemisphere was already there; in the French colony of Saint-Domingue from 1715, and in the Dutch colony of Suriname from 1718.