Tea stalls are a common sight in almost every nook and corner of the city but a

coffee shop could be rarely found in Dhaka city even few years back. With the passage of

time, Coffee has found its place in the daily life of urban people. Tea was introduced in our

country during British regime and it gained popularity among general people. But coffee

took its time to enter into common people’s lives which might be the result of the

uncongenial weather for coffee production in our country.

Today, coffee is one of most popular drinks of the world. One of the reasons of its

widespread popularity is the presence of caffeine which creates a stimulating effect on the

drinker and removes lethargy. The word “coffee” originated from the Dutch word “koffie”

which from Kahve (Turkish Word) which again was derived from “Qahwa” (Arabic Word).

Coffee bean was cultivated in Southern Arabic area for the first time, and throughout the

timeline of history it has been found during 15 th Century in Yemen. Coffee is the 7th largest

exported agriculture product in the world. Among the total production of coffee around the

globe, more than 33% coffee is being produced in Brazil. Apart from Brazil, other countries

like Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia and Ethiopia are among the top five countries for coffee

production.

Coffee was a beverage for Arabian people, but during the 16 th Century this Coffee

started to expand into different countries. From the history it is found that coffee made its

entrance into South Asia by Baba Budan, a 17th-century Sufi who was from Yemen. Though

coffee was introduced in this region a long ago, common mass of our country had a

perception that coffee is a drink for rich people. But people nowadays have embraced this

drink gradually. There are factors that contributed to the popularity of coffee to new

generation. Obviously cross cultural effect is one of the primary reasons behind this

change. In this globalized world, famous coffee shops like Starbucks have drawn attention

of the common mass, specially the younger generation and they have been subconsciously

demanding similar types of shops in our country where they can hang around with friends

to pass time over a cup of coffee. In response to that, lots of coffee shops have been

established in different areas of Dhaka like Gloria Jean’s, North End etc. Suddenly all of

these coffee shops become the place for chitchat for people and they have been attracted by

the different tastes of coffee. Lot of people is getting habituated to visiting these shops.

Considering the current scenario, it can be said that coffee business has a very good

future in Bangladesh. Especially the crowd in the coffee shops and the increasing number

of outlets are showing good prospect in this business. Recently, in some hilly areas of

Bangladesh, coffee bean plantation has started. It can be expected that coffee shops will

increase in number and lot more people will be attracted to this wonderful drink.