Coffee, Our Daily Delight

I got this funny idea of Google-searching for "the coffee addict's prayer". And here is a part of what I've found: "Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It makes me wake in green pastures; it leads me beyond the sleeping masses." Obviously, this prayer is inspired by the famous Psalm 23. Another old advertisement says "Coffee-you can sleep when you're dead!" Coffee undoubtedly is enjoyed daily by a lot of people all around the world.

How is the perfect coffee? It depends on the person's taste and temperament. The French statesman named Talleyrand made a quite witty description of his favorite type of coffee: "Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love." This is his very own recipe of the perfect coffee.

Coffee appeared in Arabia, around the year 1000 A.D. That was when the very first coffee beans were brewed. Muslims took the act of coffee drinking very religiously, so to say. They discovered that coffee had the quality of keeping them awake during prayers and worship time. So they took coffee wherever they went, spreading it around the world.

There are at least two legends telling us how coffee came into being. One story refers to an Ethiopian goat-herder who once noticed that his goats acted strangely after eating the fruit of wild coffee shrubs. Thus, the goats became more playful and energetic. So the herder decided to taste and see if there was any connection between his animals' behavior and the consumption of coffee. And, yes! There surely was something going on! He loved the energizing effect of those red berries.

Soon after, monks began boiling those coffee fruits and use that special liquid to stay awake all night, performing their rituals. At any rate, coffee has a very special place in Ethiopia, especially since it produces over 2/3 of the countries industry. It is regarded as the best coffee in the whole wide world, and therefore the most expensive!

The Ethiopian ceremony of serving coffee may last for hours on end, and it seems to have a highly-social value. It helps people interact, become more communicative and interested in spending time together. The coffee ceremony usually involves a young lady wearing Ethiopian national clothes; however, young women practice these rituals for years. So it takes a lot of training to be able to pour that fine stream of delicious beverage into those tiny little cups from a one foot distance. If you are invited to such a ceremony, it is a sign of respect and friendly intentions. The coffee ceremony is part of the Ethiopian culture, and therefore extremely important to them, that’s why the time span is quite generous - a few long hours - when compared to our western culture where we might just drink our coffee on the go.

Coffee took the place of wine in certain religious rituals which condemned the consumption of alcohol. Nonetheless, it was proclaimed as heresy by certain Muslims, and was forbidden at the beginning of the 16th century. It was also considered as unacceptable by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, until the year of 1889.

Nowadays, Ethiopians regard coffee as a national drink, regardless of religion and ideologies. The same act of prohibition also occurred in Europe, where it was initially associated with rebellions due to its invigorating effects. There are some contemporary religious groups, like the Mormons, who ban it even to this day.

In spite of these prohibitions, coffee remains a highly-consumed drink all over the world. It seems to have been many great writers’ favorite beverage throughout the centuries, if we are to mention names like H. de Balzac, the celebrated French writer. Balzac is notorious for his writing habits. He did not rush into writing; he took it at a quite slow pace, analyzing and focusing on every little aspect of his descriptions and characters. He usually had his light meal in the afternoon, then had some sleep until late at night, generally until twelve o'clock a.m. Then he got up and, while drinking an enormous quantity of black coffee, he wrote his highly-appreciated works.

The conclusion is quite simple: poison is in the dose. Coffee drunk in reasonable quantities can have a good, refreshing effect on us as long as we do not exaggerate about its consumption. So enjoy your coffee!