Mark Pendergrast is an independent scholar and science writer. His first book – For God, Country & Coca-Cola – is the definitive history of the company and its impact. The second edition of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World is out now.
How did you become interested in the history of coffee?
I became interested in coffee because it covered the same sort of issues as my book on Coca-Cola and allowed me to look in particular at the relationship between the producing and consuming countries, issues of slavery, the environment and fair trade.
Do we have a clear idea of who coffee was originally discovered?
I’m fond of the story of Kaldi the Ethiopian goatherd who saw his goats frolicking and
