Modern Drink With Deep Cultural Heritage
Coffee is among the most common foods that are served or traded in the world.
Coffee is not forbidden by any world religion - at least I am not aware that it would be - it can be found in almost every restaurant, on the menus of posh restaurants as well as in the buffet of the train station in the smallest village. Where not served by people, coffee is served by vending machines amid a loud roar. And while it can be found almost anywhere and is easily accessible, the more populous places are even “overwhelmed” by specialized coffee houses, simply called coffee shops. Today there are mobile versions of it, Italian Piaggios or other creative mobile coffee shops, which go anywhere to provide the grateful public with quality coffee experience. And all this after coffee can be found in most households, it is a basic food almost for everyone.
However, this was not always the case. There are many stories about the origin of its consumption. Some say it was first discovered by an Ethiopian shepherd named Káldi in 300 BC, who noticed that if his goats ate the red berries of a bush, they became more active. Others think that its first regular maker was an Arab doctor named Rhazes, who gave it to his patients as a medicine at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, but Avicenna, the Muslim thinker, also used it as a medicine around the turn of the 1st millennium. It is likely that as a daily routine it was first used by Sufi monks in Yemen in the 15th century, who must have already roasted it before making their brew, in order to stay sufficiently active for their religious rituals.
It is certain that coffee houses did not open until the late Middle Ages. The first one opened in Istanbul around 1550, but in Europe it can be dated even later, to the 17th century, when the first coffee house opened in Venice. The consumption of coffee – measured on a historical scale – is considered a modern habit which has spread at lightning speed and its popularity continues to this day. It is the subject of biology and health researches, and it is already so deeply rooted in the different cultures and so widespread in different parts of the world that it would be an impossible mission to fully explore all the ways it is prepared and consumed worldwide. I don't even try to.
I have tried many kinds of coffee.
First I used to drink cappuccino, with thick milk foam on top. Then it started to turn into more of a latte, and iced coffee in the summer, perhaps flavored with caramel. To this day, I love all of them, but at some point – I don't even know when – I took a U-turn and started to add only a spoonful of sugar and a few drops of milk, then I left the milk, and finally I haven't even added sugar for a while. Today I drink black espresso as a daily ritual.
When I travel, I often try a local coffee. I am interested in where and how it is consumed. In Brazil and the United States I tried many versions of filtered coffee, diluted almost like tea. During my trips to Jordan or Istanbul, Arabic or Turkish coffee was my daily brew which is also a different preparation method compared to high-pressure boiling or filtering.
But I find at least one similarity with coffee around the world, no matter where I go. Coffee has a place in the daily routine everywhere. A relaxation as well as a preparation for something. A kind of meditation alone or with others. A daily ritual that has significance.