Baba Budan was a 16th-century
Sufi, revered by both
Muslims and
Hindus, whose
shrine is at
Baba Budangiri,
Karnataka,
India. He is said to have introduced the
coffee plant to India by bringing seven raw beans from the port of
Mocha, Yemen while coming back from Haj. In those days coffee was exported to other parts of the world in roasted or baked form so that no one could grow their own and were forced to buy from the Yemenis. He brought seven beans because the number 7 is considered sacred in Islam. The coffee plants were then raised at the place that bears his name.