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American researchers have studied the genes of coffee plants all over the planet and created a family tree of the most popular coffee variety – Arabica (Coffea arabica).
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As it turned out, this variety appeared 350-600 millennia ago as a result of natural crossing of Coffea eugenioides and Coffea canephora. This happened without (and even before) human intervention.
Although wild coffee plants grow in Ethiopia, it is believed that their first roasting and preparation began in Yemen in the 15th century. According to legend, an Indian monk named Budan secretly smuggled 7 raw coffee beans back to his homeland in the 17th century, helping to spread coffee around the world.
