Arab historians agree that coffee drinking began in Yemen in the middle of the 15th century. Arab traders went to Ethiopia, where coffee beans were primarily used for medicinal purposes, and brought back coffee to cultivate for the first time.

Coffee was primarily consumed in the Islamic world where it originated and was directly related to religious practices. For example, coffee helped its consumers fast in the day and stay awake at night, during the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. It [coffee] became associated with Muhammad's birthday. Indeed, various legends ascribed coffee’s origins to Muhammad, who, through the archangel Gabriel, brought it to man to replace the wine which Islam forbade.

Abd Al-Qadir al-Jaziri wrote an early account about the history of coffee and explained that Sufi monks would use the drink as a stimulant, to help them stay awake during their meditation and prayers.

“They drank it every Monday and Friday eve, putting it in a large vessel made of red clay. Their leader ladled it out with a small dipper and gave it to them to drink, passing it to the right, while they recited one of their usual formulas, ‘There is no God, but God, the Master, the Clear Reality.’”