“This newfangled, filthy, heathenish liquor called COFFEE” — from a women’s petition, England, 1674.
Sensual, invigorating, loved in the morning, after lunch, in the evening, and even at night. Bold, daring, and passionate. It can stir the mind, or sometimes soothe it like a chat with a good friend. Isn’t that how many of us think of our favorite drink?
It’s hard to imagine now that COFFEE was ever banned. Let’s take a stroll through the winding back alleys of coffee’s history to uncover the details of this odd fact.
One of the first places in the world to ban coffee is said to be Mecca. In 1511, coffee was condemned in the name of the Prophet Muhammad, and the drink brewed from its beans was branded “the devil’s intoxicating brew.” Its effects were compared to alcohol — clouding the mind and giving rise to “improper thoughts.”
In the 16th century, coffee mania swept through Constantinople, seriously alarming the authorities. Coffee was believed to “loosen tongues,” and every coffeehouse buzzed with political talk. The drink was banned, and coffeehouses were shut down. Harsh punishments were introduced for anyone who defied the ban. Under the rule of Mehmed IV, coffee lovers caught for the first time were beaten, and those caught a second time were sewn into a canvas coffee sack and thrown into the Bosphorus.
Coffee’s rise in popularity in Europe coincided with the Age of Discovery. Back then, the drink was seen as a curiosity, and opinions on it were far from unanimous — some adored and practically worshipped it, while others considered it a satanic brew. Clergy in Italy, worried about coffee’s influence on their parishioners’ minds, called for the drink to be banned. But when Pope Clement VIII tried coffee himself, he couldn’t hide his delight at its taste, and jokingly remarked that it should be “baptized.” Thanks to the pope’s blessing, the ban was lifted.
Coffee was banned in an unusual way in England. Its opponents drew up a women’s petition, begging the king to outlaw the poison as soon as possible. According to these Englishwomen, coffee turned their husbands impotent. Of course, its ingredients had no such effect on men’s health — but men spent so much time at coffeehouses that they simply had no time left for their marital duties.
“They come home as dry as a sponge, with nothing moist about them but their runny noses, nothing firm but their bones, and nothing standing but their ears.”
After a statement like that, trust in coffee was, understandably, badly shaken.
In 1746, a coffee ban was introduced in Sweden too — one that even extended to “coffee paraphernalia.” Every cup and saucer in the kingdom was confiscated by the police. King Gustav III even devised a method of execution by coffee: those condemned to death were force-fed concentrated coffee until it killed them.
In 1777, King Frederick the Great of Prussia banned coffee consumption and issued a manifesto proclaiming the superiority of beer. The ruler likely hoped this would boost consumption of the frothy beverage — from then on, breakfast was to be washed down exclusively with beer instead of coffee.
Interestingly, Frederick himself did drink coffee — not that he loved it, but he’d have some now and then for a boost of energy.
And, oddly enough, a completely unexpected ban was introduced in coffee’s own birthplace, Ethiopia. Until the 19th century, the local church condemned the drink, considering it a pagan relic and calling it “the devil’s wine.”
Such has been coffee’s difficult fate.
And now that we know all this, it seems we’ll love it even more — and the joy of every cup will feel even brighter.
