A History of the World in 6 Glasses

In Section 4, Standage turns his attention from alcoholic drinks to caffeinated ones, beginning with the role of coffee during Europe's Age of Enlightenment. By the early seventeenth century, European thinkers were beginning to challenge the principles laid down by Ancient Greek philosophers. This was made possible, in part, by the religious wars of the Protestant Reformation, which questioned the once infallible authority of the Catholic Church and opened the way for a scientific revolution. The popularity of this new, rational approach coincided with the increasing popularity of coffee.

Importantly, coffee provided an alternative to alcohol that was safe to drink and which made people more alert. During the seventeenth century, most drinks were alcoholic to some degree, whether it was weak beer or watered down wine, and coffee became the antithesis of these drinks. Like many innovations, coffee originated in the Arab world; it “seems to have first become popular in Yemen in the mid-fifteenth century” (137) where it was used in Sufi rituals. While it was non-alcoholic, and therefore permitted by Islam, coffee was not without controversy. Some Muslim scholars argued that coffee was, in fact, intoxicating, while for others, the coffeehouse represented the dangerous possibility of political dissent. That backgammon and chess were routinely played in these establishments further suggested their morally dubious character, although Islam only forbids such games if bets are placed on the outcome.

Coffee’s association with Islam might have negatively affected its reception in Europe, where it was introduced in the early seventeenth century, had Pope Clement VIII not approved its use by Christians just before his death in 1605. Coffeehouses first appeared in England during the rule of the Puritan leader, Thomas Cromwell, when they provided an alternative to taverns. After Cromwell’s death, these establishments became centers of political discussion focused around the restoration of the British Monarchy. While coffeehouses thus played a small role in the restoration, this later stood against them, when King Charles II, like the aforementioned Arab leaders, became “suspicious of the freedom of speech allowed” (144) there. His attempt to suppress coffeehouses caused a public outcry, and he quickly retracted the legislation.

The King was not the only person to object to coffee and coffeehouses. Some doctors questioned the medical benefits of coffee and suggested that it was actually harmful. One women’s group published a pamphlet complaining about the negative effects of coffee. In it, they suggested that because “men were spending all their time in coffeehouses, from which women were prohibited, ‘the whole race was in danger of extinction’” (144). Other people merely disliked the taste, due in part to the way coffee was served in these establishments. Coffee was pre-prepared and then cold coffee was heated up before serving. However, these numerous and varied complaints did not prevent the continued popularity of the beverage.

During the seventeenth century, London emerged as the center of a commercial empire, and coffeehouses were particularly popular with merchants, who could meet clients and colleagues and catch up on the news of the day. In fact, some businessmen used particular coffeehouses as their offices and kept regular hours there. Coffeehouses proved so popular that some tavern-keepers complained about the effect on their business, and in France, wine merchants made similar complaints.

Until the end of the seventeenth century, Arabia held a monopoly on coffee, despite European attempts to establish its own supplies. The Dutch were the first Europeans to successfully produce coffee, after some Dutch sailors stole a sample of a coffee tree. They established their first coffee plantations on the Indonesian island of Java in the 1690s, allowing them to undercut the price of Arabian coffee. Coffee was then introduced to the French West Indies by a naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, and from there production spread to Haiti, Cuba, Cost Rica and Venezuela, with Brazil eventually emerging as the world’s largest supplier of coffee.