Episode 10: 500 Years of Brewing Cultural Change!
500 Years of Brewing Cultural Change!
Author: Paul Kurtz
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Coffee is believed to have first been cultivated in Ethiopia, and by the 15th century, it had expanded to Yemen and across the Middle East. The Koran forbids the use of alcohol, so coffee was a natural beverage that found a home within Islam. Its popularity in the Arab world, with coffeehouses, or Gahveh Khaneh, emerging in Mecca and then in Constantinople in the 15th and 16th
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centuries, was guarded from Europe for many decades. It was punishable by death for anyone who tried to export the commodity. Eventually, it was introduced to one European country after another throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Coffeehouses became important social and intellectual hubs, with the first European coffeehouse opening in Venice in 1645.
A theory exists that, with the water being so foul across Europe in medieval times, many took to drinking table beer as a substitute for water. In fact, it is believed that the Irish brand Guinness, with its low alcohol content, was first developed and sold as a medicinal beverage, not a party or merriment drink. One writer, traveling across Europe in the Middle Ages, states that by noon, every able-bodied man was drunk and incapacitated. Whether this was fact or not, I’m not sure, but coffee was becoming a preferred beverage during this period. Many historians believe that as the peasantry of Europe began consuming coffee in public places and at home, it may have been the single largest influence on the Age of Enlightenment. With clear thinking and soberness come new ideas, creativity, and the arts. The 17th and 18th centuries saw an intellectual and philosophical movement taking place in Europe. Not bad for a cup of coffee!
This intellectual movement set the stage for European expansion and a synthesized worldview. By the mid-1700s, the colonies in America were being developed, and war with England over independence was festering. After the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, all entries to the Boston Harbor port were blocked by the British government. The 340 chests of tea that were thrown overboard were estimated to be valued at 1 million dollars in today's currency.
A coffee expert (Mike Sivetz, Corvallis, OR), on a visit in the mid-1990s, told me this account: The Dutch had an old schooner in the Java port in Indonesia, right at the time of the Tea Party. They loaded this old ship with the worst coffee they had available and set sail for America. The thinking was that if it got confiscated, it would not be a big loss, but if it got through, the reward would be great. The households of Boston and throughout the colonies were desperate for a replacement for tea. They were foraging in the woods to find roots, leaves, and something to make a beverage with. In some stroke of fate, this old Dutch schooner got through into the Carolinas and offloaded the “bad coffee.” The colonies took to coffee like a “moth to a flame.” History shows that we transitioned immediately from a “tea-drinking” society to a “coffee-drinking” culture. Not bad for a cup of coffee!
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This did set a precedent for America importing low-quality coffee. In a 1980s poll, 80% of coffee drinkers were putting cream and/or sugar in their coffee. This usually indicates an effort to tame the bitterness and bite of low-quality coffee. Recent polls indicate 40-45% of Americans add cream and/or sugar. An emphasis on high-grown Arabica, which is mild and
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sweet in nature, really does not need anything for newcomers to coffee to enjoy drinking it.
In the 18th century, coffee’s stimulating effects helped fuel the Industrial Revolution, according to historians. This, too, is not bad for a cup of coffee!
Uncle Sam has always focused on giving soldiers coffee to keep them alert during dark, all-night watches. Many WWII soldiers returned home and confused their wives with their insistence on having coffee in the house. “You don’t drink coffee… do you?” These veterans’ love for coffee was the basis for many labor reforms in the ’50s and ’60s, including 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM coffee breaks in the office and workplace throughout America. Again… not bad for a cup of coffee!
In the 18th century, coffee’s stimulating effects helped fuel the Industrial Revolution, according to historians. This, too, is not bad for a cup of coffee!
Uncle Sam has always focused on giving soldiers coffee to keep them alert during dark, all-night watches. Many WWII soldiers returned home and confused their wives with their insistence on having coffee in the house. “You don’t drink coffee… do you?” These veterans’ love for coffee was the basis for many labor reforms in the ’50s and ’60s, including 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM coffee breaks in the office and workplace throughout America. Again… not bad for a cup of coffee!