Coffee and coffeehouses, Iran - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
General Material Designation
[Article]
First Statement of Responsibility
Matthee, Rudolph P.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.
Leiden
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Brill
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
(2,664 words)
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
The beginnings of coffee and coffeehouses in Iran are unclear. The history of coffee (Pers., bunn , the beans, qahva(t) , the drink), is told variously, but it seems that the plant and the drink crossed the Red Sea from its place of origin in the Ethiopian highlands and spread to Yemen and beyond as early as the eighth/fourteenth century. Because it enhanced the wakefulness required for nocturnal worship, coffee was initially associated with Ṣūfīs. It is unclear exactly when coffee was introduced into Iran, probably by pilgrims returning from