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It Started in Ethiopia Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

bob8bear: The cache at the final location is missing. Do to some clean up in the area the final location is no longer suitable for a cache container. We have had a good run here but it is time to let it go and free up all the locations around town for new caches. Thanks to everyone for having visited all the locations.

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Hidden : 2/13/2006
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Puzzle Cache limited to downtown, easy to park at first one and then walk or drive to all locations on a 3 mile round trip adventure! This can be done in any weather, day or night.


Coffee was first discovered in Eastern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually frisky after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomenon, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him a renewed energy. The news of this energy laden fruit quickly spread throughout the region.

Monks hearing about this amazing fruit dried the berries so that they could be transported to distant monasteries. They reconstituted these berries in water, ate the fruit, and drank the liquid to provide stimulation for a more awakened time for prayer.

Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian Peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen. From there, coffee traveled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today.

Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic Church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.

Coffee houses spread quickly across Europe becoming centers for intellectual exchange. Many great minds of Europe used this beverage, and forum, as a springboard to heightened thought and creativity.

In the 1700's, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.

Coffee was declared the national drink of the then colonized United States by the Continental Congress, in protest of the excessive tax on tea levied by the British crown. From http://www.coffeeuniverse.com/university_hist.html

Geocacher Zen Cooker provided this additional piece of information: Venice was the port where "spices" from Eastern cultures and dairy products from European cultures met. The coffee beans imported from Ethiopia, Yemen, etc. at the time were of low quality and had to be roasted very dark to be palatable. The way to make a tasty beverage from them? Add milk! Thus, the cappuccino and latte (actually "cafe latte") were born.

OBJECT: Visit 8 non-traditional beverage locations, each location (waypoint) yields a clue needed to find the “reward” final cache and logbook. Note: All these places serve non-coffee items for those who may not be lovers of the bean.

Due to trees and buildings, the coordinates will get you near them.

View the ratings for GCTETM

To check the coordinates for the 8th stage:Check your solution

To check the coordinates for the final cache:Check your solution

Additional Hints (No hints available.)