Hey, how’re you doing? I am here writing about coffee with a cup in hand, of course.
The debate of coffee’s health benefits is no secret to anyone. But have you ever thought of the journey it had through the centuries? Everything new causes a stir and leads to bizarre measures that, after decades, become a laughable history. Coffee carries such history, my friends.
A goat herder named Kaldi from Ethiopia noticed his goats had become more energetic after eating some beans from a type of plant. Then he experimented on himself, saw the results, and slowly spread around about the mysterious beans. That’s how coffee was introduced to the world.
Now, every day 2.25 billion cups of coffee are being taken. The rich taste and refreshing effect of coffee made it quickly people’s first choice. Khair Beg of Mecca, Ottoman sultan, and many other rulers had banned this.
The Islamic world got acquainted with the drink in the 15th century because Sufis could stay awake longer for prayer with the help of coffee. Some claimed coffee as a ‘satanic influence’.
After tasting it, Pope Clement VIII "This Satan’s drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall cheat Satan by baptizing it."
A centuries-long journey, and here it is, has become part of our daily ritual.
History’s bizarre events related to coffee:
✦ Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640) banned coffee, labeling it as a stimulant along with smoking and alcohol. Punishment was instant beheading to death. Pretty extreme, right?
✦ In Sweden, King Gustav III decided to experiment with the health effects of coffee on identical twins, who were already sentenced to death. He changed the decree to life imprisonment with a condition that one has to drink several cups of coffee daily, and the other with tea. The coffee one outlived the king, doctors, and his twin. Not saying that coffee gave him a long life. Now that’s poetic irony, isn’t it?
✦ Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1777, annoyed by the people's preference for coffee over beer. He even wrote a letter to make beer ‘people’s drink’. Though the reasons were economic loss and xenophobia to some extent.
Buzz Bit
Meet with the world’s luckiest double hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor), Tsutomu Yamaguchi. Work trip to Hiroshima, Little Boy had been dropped.
He survived and returned to his hometown of Nagasaki. Three days later, Fat Man fell there and he survived again. He lived up to 93 years old.
If it’s not a miracle, then what is?
Do you enjoy stories like this? Lemme know.
Let’s chat next time!
Thanks for reading,
Jessie.
