April 2013
| Business World Magazine | 133
Long before it arrived in instant and freeze-dried forms, coffee was seen as something more sacred
than systemic to so many morning routines. Legend claims a Ninth Century Ethiopian named Kaldi
observed how his goat herd went gaga after grazing on berries from the “Bunna” (their name for the
coffee plant). Kaldi shared his findings with tribal priests who determined that by boiling the beans in
water, consumption of the resulting concoction helped them maintain alertness through the ardors
and hours of their devotions. It spread to Egypt and Yemen where the Sufi Monasteries adopted it in
their rituals. The Arab world helped elevate coffee roasting into an artisanal process, referring to the
drink as “qahhwat al-bun” or “wine of the bean.” World exploration, trade and even conquest would
lead to coffee plants being gifted to reining monarchs, or in some cases, secretly smuggled from one
country to the next in years that followed. Today, so much of coffee’s historical and cultural mystique
would be lost in packaged processes and functions of cookie-cutter fast-serve concepts were it not for
the bold standards of a business brewed-up by two brothers in Minnesota. While their efforts have
benefitted coffee consumers and coffee growers alike, for entrepreneurs percolating over business
prospects, this one brims in all kinds of aromatic potential.
