Now, I find this topic very interesting, possibly because I've lately been planning some things for an RPG and have realised I should probably know about these things...
I agree with more or less everybody on this thread: it is probable that tarde between these nations existed. I can very well see Gondorian nobility using luxury products that have been brought from Harad or far Eastern lands. Ivory, silk, spices maybe even hides of exotic animals. What the Kings or Stewards thought, or whether this trade was official or legal, that I don't know. I can very well see it being banned at least from time to time.
As for coffee, it has been discussed in this thread,
Coffee!, to a great extent. Maybe some of you will find that interesting. What I said on the thread was
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Thinlómien
What if it is this simple: in Tolkien's Middle-Earth coffee grew in colder climate than in our world? Wouldn't be the only difference between the two worlds.
I mean, if a book has elves, hobbits, dwarves and orcs etc prancing around (not to mention balrogs and such) is it really any wonder that in such a world coffee may grow in a different climate than in our world?
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and I still think that reasonable enough an explanation. Of course it can be argued...