Is It Just Me Or You All Love Coffee?
As it is Monday morning and as it is said that not even the grass grows on Monday, what better way to start the week if not talking about coffee? You most certainly have a cup of coffee in front of you as you happen to read this article and if you don’t then you will most certainly grab one as soon as you finish reading this. Most of us simply enjoy its taste; others drink it as they find it refreshing and good for their body. What better way to wake up if not by drinking a cup of coffee? It may not work for everyone and at all times yet we continue to drink it. Did you ever envisage coffee as the second most widely consumed beverage in the world? Probably not as we all take this daily cup or cups for granted. Waking up in the morning with your eyes half opened you start preparing your coffee as you need to take your morning fuel dose in order to be able to function appropriately all day long. It sometimes gives you the energy you need and makes you feel better. If you happen to have a headache, most often because you haven’t had time to drink your daily coffee, all you need to do is drink some and the ache will vanish. In case it doesn’t you should perhaps visit the doctor. It may be good for some, yet bad for those who have heart problems. It has been discovered that those who use to drink coffee have less colon cancer than those who don’t. Its benefits as far as diseases are concerned do not stop here as if you happen to have some Parkinson case in your family then you should know that it has been shown that this disease can be reduced by drinking coffee. Other such diseases that have been significantly improved for those who used to drink coffee are asthma – by drinking coffee you may prevent another attack from happening, gallstones or cirrhosis. The last two diseases are said to have a lower occurrence rate if only one drank coffee.
When drinking your morning coffee did it ever cross your mind that million of other people did the same thing across the globe? Figures show that 1400 millions of cups are consumed every day across the world. The hours may vary yet we are talking about the same habit and the same drink, perhaps various rituals used in serving this beverage. And when one thinks that it all started with some goats things get more and more interesting. Those of you who do not know the beginnings of coffee will probably think that I didn’t use the right word when writing ‘goat’ but yes, it all started with some goats that being probably animated by hunger ate the cherries from what it has been discovered to be the coffee tree. You can all imagine how these animals acted under the impact of caffeine. It is said that this thing occurred in the 9th century and that Kaldi; the goat herder discovered his goats in the morning in a state of over-excitement, acting pretty strange and unusual. It sounds quite plausible since we all know the effects coffee can have on us humans.
Most of us take this beverage for granted yet few of us are aware of its history. You will be surprised to hear that the consumption of coffee was banned three times along the history and what is even more interesting by three different cultures. Who dared doing this? Well, the first time it happened in Mecca in the 16the century and the prohibition was put an end to 30 years later, the second time it happened when Charles the II decided to declare the beverage illegal mainly because he envisaged coffee houses as the main gathering places for those who decided to start rebellions. He was right yet he did not manage to enforce his decision as people proved to be somehow addicted to this drink. The third time it was the Germans who did this, namely Frederick the Great in 1677. It was said that he did this because he was concerned with the large amounts of money which were spent on this beverage.
As you all see it is a beverage you can either love or hate its guts and think it more appropriately to prohibit its use. If it were for you to have the power to decide what would you do?
When it comes to history you will be surprised to hear that some of it was written, planned and decided in coffee houses. When I say this I am thinking about the French and the American revolutions. Coffee houses were frequently used by patriots to organize their meetings there, debating serious matters. Such was the case of these two revolutions; they practically have their roots in these coffee houses.
Nowadays gathering over a cup of coffee has become a usual thing. We invite and are invited to discuss important business matters at a cup of coffee or just use this beverage as a way to socialize and interact with people.
Some of you may be surprised to hear that almost each nation has its own way of drinking coffee. It all turns out to be a ritual of coffee tasting. If you find yourself in Germany or Switzerland then you will probably be served with one such coffee which has equal parts of chocolate in it, in Mexico locals will add some cinnamon to it, in Belgium coffee goes together with chocolate, in Marocco the flavor will be somehow different due to peppercorns and as salt has to be in everything Ethiopians add a pinch of salt to their daily coffee. If you like to travel and find yourself in the Middle East you should not be surprised if your coffee comes together with cardamom and spices; you may as well enjoy it and start using them yourself once back at home. Yet if you do not get easily accustomed to new habits and tastes and enjoy your coffee plain and strong then perhaps the place you should have your coffee is right in your own home or in Egypt. Some like it pure and strong, some like adding to it some sugar or whipped cream; it all comes down to personal taste and choices.
If you are the kind of person who turned his morning coffee drinking habit into a ritual then you will too do the same think that Beethoven did when it came to preparing his coffee. What did he do, you will probably wonder. It is said that as he loved coffee he counted 60 beans for each cup of this beverage when he prepared it. You may do the same thing if you are the kind of person who loves establishing things thoroughly and in advance.
When it comes to customs and coffee serving rituals there are some things which can be equally surprising for some of you. For example have you ever been aware of the fact that in countries like Greece and Turkey the eldest is the first to be served with coffee? Even more surprising would be considered the fact that at one time Turkish bridegrooms were required to promise during their wedding ceremonies that they would serve their wives with coffee, making sure that whenever they wish to have a cup of coffee their wish will be a law for them. What happened if they failed to keep their promise? The D word would have been brought into discussion: divorce. It may sound absurd to most men or normal to others. I mean the morning coffee not the divorce.
Even though there are some religions that prohibit at times the consumption of coffee, some religious important figures simply loved this beverage; such was the case of Pope Clement VIII as he was the one who actually authorized its use. Numerous stories account for the large amounts of money being spent by Louis XV on coffee, not for himself but for his daughters. If it is true or not that he spent 15000 dollars per year on coffee as stories say, perhaps we will never know it.
Numerous romantic stories were woven around this vast subject, coffee. There were people who claimed that Voltaire drank 50 cups a day. When it comes to coffee and the writers who made the difference on the stage of the worldwide literature, Balzac’s name was also frequently connected to coffee as he seemed to find his inspiration better when drinking this beverage. It is said that him too would drink up to fifty cups of coffee on a daily basis. It is said that he liked plain and strong and that he at times chewed coffee beans. Some of you will probably say that he was high on coffee being practically addicted to it; you may be right. Yet, being animated by creative thoughts and probably finding the 24 hours not enough for him to be able to put down all the ideas that crossed his mind he found coffee quite useful. When I told my mother this information she naturally asked me how long he lived. He died at 51 years old of ulcer. If you ever find it interesting and look it up for information you may see that some claim that coffee and lack of sleep may have caused his death. I think there was more to it than just coffee.
You may find it interesting to read some passages from his book entitled “The Pleasures and Pains of coffee”.
Coffee brought together important art and literature men who used to gather in coffee houses and as such these houses were considered to be some sort of schools of wisdom, at least this is how they were named a long time ago in Constantinople.
If you ever wondered where the first coffee house was opened then you should find out that it was in Paris and contrary to most expectations it didn’t have a special name; it was called Café Procope being named after its owner Francois Procope. Yet, you will certainly be surprised to hear that it all happened in 1689. Quite an unusual time don’t you think so?
The funny thing about coffee is that it even constituted a subject of quarrels between husbands and wives. Complaining about the fact that men were spending more time at the coffee houses than at home some women even created a petition against coffee. It all happened in 1674 in London.
Different countries, the same habit: that of drinking coffee.
Yet, few of us think about the environment when drinking their daily coffee. All it takes for you is buy organic coffee as by doing this you can be sure that no chemicals have been used in the process of cultivating it and as such you will manage to make the difference when it comes to taking care of the environment.
You may not be aware of the fact that by cultivating organic coffee farmers may prevent various chemicals from polluting the water sources; not to mention here the fact that the soil will as well be kept in a good condition as no pesticides and chemicals that may destroy the earth are used in the process. It may as well help protecting the natural habitat of birds and other species as well. Not only is it healthy for you but for the environment too. It can be even healthier for the world around us if you choose not to throw away the plastic coffee cups many still use nowadays.
Organic or conventional coffee, it all comes down to a matter of personal choice. Why not choose organic coffee and as such spare the world of useless deforestation or of natural habitat destruction?
If you ever envisaged coffee as a simple beverage well, you most certainly found out now that it isn’t, it is all much more complicated than you ever thought.
