Coffee, an Unstoppable Force and How It Took over the World

Coffee is the most widely used drug in the world.

Even though most of us consume multiple servings a day, we’re still oblivious to how coffee became a household necesity. This famous drink, today enjoyed as a guilty pleasure, was at the heart of wars, industrialization and slavery.

So, if you want to learn all about this and more, read on.

Legend#

According to legend, a goathearder named Kaldi discovered coffee in 6th century Ethiopia when he observed how energetic his goats became after eating the berries of a certain shrub.

He tried the fruit himself and realizing it’s potential, he brought it to the local monks who started using it to keep themselves awake for late night prayers.

African History#

The first record of coffee consumption in liquid form comes from Yemen in the 15th century, where sufi monks would use the drink to aid in late night rituals of dance.

Coffee began it’s export through the islamic world from the costal town of Mokha in the south-west of Yemen, when the drink arrived to Istambul a new phenomenon emerged: coffee houses.

Coffee houses were a place where people would gather to freely discuss new ideas. This reputation attracted political disidents who often discused their opposing ideologies to the regime and led to bans by dictators.

However, due to coffee’s popularity and profitability the bans were short lived.

European History#

Coffee first arrived in Europe through Britain in the 17th century. Because of Britain’s poor sewage infrastructure, the only purified beverages at the time were alcoholic. When coffee arived in Britain, it allowed a way of purifying water that changed the drinking habbits of the nation.

Each coffee house in Britain had it’s unique culture, attracting different types of individuals.

The London Stock Exchange was initially Jonathan’s Coffe House. Lloyd’s insurance market began in a similar way, providing reliable shipping news to sailors, merchants and ship owners.

When the industrial revolution began in 18th century England, coffee was used to keep workers awake around the clock and to make them more productive by replacing eating breaks with frequent coffee breaks.

Coffee was popular but importing it from the middle east proved expensive. The european empires of the time, notably the British, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch empires fixed the issue by using slave labour to cultivate coffee on colonial plantations.

Not long after, coffee became one of the top colonial crops, along with sugar, cotton and tabacco.

American History#

In America, coffee became not only a substitute for heavily taxed british tea but also a symbol of independence, the Boston Tea Party being planned at the Green Dragon Tavern.

In the American Civil War, Union soldiers would receive coffee as part of their daily rations, which could be argued to have helped them obtain the victory.

By the 20th century, America was responsible for the yearly consumption of over half the world’s coffee.

Is Coffee a Drug?#

Caffeine is classified as a psychoactive drug. Other psychoactive drugs include: nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, heroine, morphine and other drugs. Yet, you can still get your hands on coffee in every store.

Caffeine resides in this category beacause it excites the central nervous system and increases arousal. Too much coffee can cause heart attacks, strokes and even death.

However, given coffee’s popularity these are relatively rare incidents so you don’t have to worry to much about them.

Addictions are hard to give up not because they’re harmful but because they’re helpful. Dr. K