Legend has it that around 800 AD, while Europe remained in the Dark Ages and Arabia was emerging as a hub of trade and religion, a solitary shepherd on the Ethiopian steppes was tending to his tribe of goats. Suddenly, the goats were seized by a wild frenzy, leaping and bleating, disrupting the shepherd's peaceful routine. He noticed that the goats had been grazing on a bush of berries, and fueled by curiosity, he tasted them too, driven by the same frenetic energy as his tribe. Believing himself to be possessed by a demon dwelling in those berries, the shepherd collected some of them, placed them in his burlap sack, and set off for the nearest monastery to seek counsel from the holy men there.

The monks, fearing the supposed berry-dwelling demons, tossed the beans into the nearest fire, where they smouldered and emitted an intoxicating aroma. Lured by the scent, the monks decided to brew a soup from the beans to enhance their devotional practices. The shepherd, upon tasting this new concoction, decided to abandon his nomadic life and become a barista. He uprooted a bush of these berries, placed the fruits in his burlap sack, and migrated to Maadi, Egypt, specifically Road 233, where he opened Sacks Specialty Coffee Roasters.