The heavy tea tax imposed on
colonies in 1773, which caused the "Boston Tea Party" resulted
in America switching from tea to coffee. Drinking coffee was an
expression of freedom.
The Civil War in the United States
elevated the popularity of coffee to new heights. Soldiers went
to war with coffee beans as a primary ration.
A barista is a respected job title
in Italy.
In Greece and Turkey, the oldest
person is most always served their coffee first.
In the ancient Arab world, coffee
became such a staple in family life that one of the causes
allowed by law for marital seperation was a husband's refusal
to produce coffee for his wife.
In the last three centuries, 90%
of all people living in the Western world have switched from
tea to coffee.
Special studies conducted about
the human body reveal it will usually absorb upto about 300
milligrams of caffeine at a given time. Additional amounts are
just cast off, providing no further stimulation. Also, the
human body dissipates 20% of the caffeine in the system each
hour.
Once in Germany, the government
hired a special force known as Kaffee Schnufflers, to sniff out
illicit coffee roasters and smugglers. It was an intense
campaign brought about by King Frederick who did not believe
that coffee-drinking soldiers can be depended upon. Fortunately
he failed for he too loved coffee.
Ore popular. They even launched a
campaign to persuade Charles II to issue an order to suppress
coffeehouses. Fortunately, public outcry forced the order to be
retracted.
On 8 January 1675, certain
merchants in England were angered when coffee was introduced.
Those selling ale and wine felt threatened, when coffee became
more popular.
During the American Civil War,
when coffee was scarce, the citizens of New Orleans used
chicory as substitutes. Today, they would have their coffee
with chicory, which is mixed with quantity of strong black
coffee, hot and rich milk.
In the old days in Constantinople,
the first coffeehouses were called qahveh khaneh (schools of
wisdom) because they were the meeting places of men of arts and
literature.
In 1674 in London, a group of
women formed Women's Petition Against Coffee (WPAC). They
complained that their men were always at the coffee houses, and
not being at home as needed during domestic crises.
Beethoven who was a coffee lover,
was so particular about his coffee that he always counted 60
beans each cup when he prepared his brew.
The requirements for making of
good espresso are summarised by the 4 "M"s: Macinazione (the
correct grinding of coffee blend), Miscela (coffee blend),
Macchina (the espresso machine) and of course, Mano (barista).
In 1511, Khair Beg, Mecca's
corrupt governor, attempted to ban the coffee drink, fearing
that it might foster public opposition to his rule. He even
summoned experts from every walk of life to testify against
coffee.
