In the 17th Century, men were recommended by their doctors to visit coffee houses rather than the pub. At the time, coffee houses were exclusive to men, and women of questionable repute. Wives across London felt that coffee was reducing the virility of their men and that it should be banned.
They created the following petition:
The following extract shows why they had reached this conclusion:
‘The Occasion of which Insufferable Disaster, after a serious Enquiry, and Discussion of the Point by the Learned of the Faculty, we can Attribute to nothing more than the Excessive use of that Newfangled, Abominable, Heathenish Liquor called COFFEE, which Riffling Nature of her Choicest Treasures, and Drying up the Radical Moisture, has so Eunucht our Husbands, and Crippled our more kind Gallants, that they are become as Impotent, as Age, and as unfruitful as those Desarts whence that unhappy Berry is said to be brought.’
It has been suggested that the true reason for the supposed impotence of the men was their liasons with the earlier mentioned women of questionable repute.
A year later the men published a document, ‘Men’s Answer to the Women’s Petition against Coffee’. It claimed coffee was an aphrodisiac and so women should be thankful.
You can read the full petition here:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Women%27s_Petition_against_Coffee
story of coffee
Women Against Coffee?!
The First Coffee Shops of London
There is some debate as to when and where the first coffee house was established in London. It is widely regarded that it was in the late 17th Century, in the Ward of Cornhill, part of the City of London. Owned by a Pasqua Rosee, the shop was originally called ‘The Turk’s Head’.
As in much of Europe, coffee was quickly established as a social drink, an opportunity to discuss news, gossip and politics. They quickly became known as ‘Penny Universities’, since it cost a penny to enter, which gave you access to not only coffee, but magazines, discussions and pamphlets. By 1700, there were approximately 2,000 coffee houses in London.
It is no coincidence that the first coffee houses were in the area that is now largely the financial district of London. The coffee houses were a place for writers, bankers, academics, sometimes even sea-farers. Many important British institutions were founded in coffee houses. One of the most influencial of these was Lloyds of London, which has been hugely influencial in British business and finance.
The magazine, Tatler, first started as a gossip mag of the coffee houses. The gossip became so scandalous and the politics so threatening to the ruling elite, that Charles II tried to shut them down. So unpopular was the move, that it backfired and he quickly had to cancel the decree.
Some of the original coffee houses can be seen along Fleet Street and it is certainly fun to walk and imagine them all.
Ethiopia’s Passion
The Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Ethiopians take coffee very seriously and the drink is an integral part of their culture. The Coffee Ceremony is the centrepiece of their social life.
Performed by the hostess, the coffee beans are first roasted in a flat pan or brazier over hot coals. The aromatic scent will then be wafted towards the guests before the coffee is ground using a pestle and mortar.
The brewing process uses a Jebena, a special pottery boiling pot. The coffee boils up through the neck and is poured into a container to cool, a process which is repeated a number of times and strained through course cloth. The grounds are brewed three times; the first time is called, awel, the second kale’i and the third, bereka.
The hostess then expertly pours the coffee from about a foot above the cups, adding aroma to the taste.
