The legend goes like this. Long ago, a young goat-herder called Kaldi was looking after his goats high up in the Ethiopian hills. One day, he noticed his goats had eaten the bright red berries from a particular bush - and afterwards, they were skipping, jumping and behaving as if they had endless energy. They wouldn't sleep at night.
Curious, Kaldi tried the berries himself. Suddenly he had energy too. He took some to a monk at a nearby monastery, who tried them and found he could stay awake during long evening prayers. Slowly, the news of these magical berries spread.
The truth behind the legend is that coffee plants really did grow wild in the Ethiopian highlands. People there were the first in the world to roast the seeds inside the berries, grind them up, and brew them with hot water. From Ethiopia, coffee travelled across the Red Sea to Yemen, then to Turkey, then to the rest of the world.
Today, coffee is one of the most popular drinks on Earth. People drink about two billion cups of it every day. And in Ethiopia, where it all began, coffee is still served as part of a special ceremony - the whole family gathers around to roast and brew it together.