Sometime in 15th century Yemen, a shepherd saw goats become excited and restless after eating red berries from a bush. He mentioned the incident to a monk, who then boiled the berries and extracted bitter liquid. It was strong and when the monk drank it, he felt weary and his sleepiness disappeared. Thus, coffee was born?or so the story goes.

Coffee is only three centuries old in the Western world, but it has been consumed in the East since around 800 BC. The coffee plant?s origin goes back to Kaffa, a region in Ethiopia. The plant spread throughout the East, starting from Yemen and then on to Arabia and Egypt. Coffee didn?t arrive to Europe until the 16th century, and until the early 18th century in Brazil. Today, coffee comes in many flavors and packages. Enterprises like Starbucks and Seattle?s Best offer coffee of every kind to coffee lovers.

Coffee?s popularity extends itself to weddings. Coffee wedding favors are a hit among guests. Coffee, at wholesale price, is cheap, usually around $3 per pound (16 ounces). With that much coffee, you can make about 50 coffee wedding favors. Put coffee in small plastic bottles or tin cans (which you would have bought at a discount or wholesale price) and personalize them.

Some companies specialize in customized coffee wedding favors that come in small packets. Bundle 3 or 4 packets in handmade paper bags or tulles and you?ve got jazzy coffee wedding favors.

For creative coffee wedding favors, give your guests coffee scoops filled with coffee beans. Throw in a bag of chocolates with each coffee scoop and you?ve got truly irresistible coffee wedding favors. You can give your guests personalized coffee mugs or coffee cups too. Fill the mugs or cups with coffee beans or coffee packets and you?re off.

Introduce your guests to the wonderful world of coffee by creating a booklet that?s filled with coffee facts and trivia. You can even include coffee recipes. Package the booklets with personalized coffee packets.

Hassle-free coffee wedding favors are gift certificates to coffeehouses or specialty shops such as Starbucks and Seattle?s Best. Inquire about gift certificates from these coffee shops and if the cost meets your budget, you can simply distribute the gift certificates to your guests at the end of he reception.

If you have a big budget, you can opt for gourmet coffee wedding favors or coffee basket treats. You can have coffee beans imported from say, Italy.

And if you?re not sure everyone in your guest list likes his or her coffee strong and black, give away soy coffee. It doesn?t have the kick to get you out of sleepiness, but it?s a healthy non-caffeine alternative to real coffee and it tastes great too! Alternatively, you can give away packets of decaffeinated coffee.

From its beginnings in Yemen to its widespread use in the West, coffee remains a favorite among people young and old. Coffee wedding favors are sure to delight your guests!

Copyright Andrea R Britt, 2005. All rights reserved.