ABOUT COFFEE

COFFEE is a lovely thing. The first friend to meet in the morning. And also at several occasions later in the day. 

When I was still working in the Commission my coffee was always cold. Why?  Because each time I had made or got a cup of coffee the phone rang. Always.   And when I finished my talk it was always solid cold ☹   You can get used to it. After I retired and started to get warm coffee, I was still so attached to my old habit that if the phone now and then rang I sort of had an unconscious feeling that my coffee automatically would get cold.  And my surprise was immense, when this was not the case.  I seem to have talked more while I was working than I did afterwards 😊


What is the history behind coffee? Where does it come from? And why is it called coffee?


Coffee is very old. It goes back to the 6^th century AC, when a shepherd looking after his goats discovered, that his goats got very excited, when they were chewing the berries from a special tree. It took place in a place called Kaffe in Yemen in the south of the Arabian peninsular.


But it was only about 800 years later that somebody got the idea to roast the berries/beans and make a drink from them. Coffee had been invented – and it got its name from the place called Kaffe (coffee, café).


Until then it was only grown in the south of Arabia and in Ethiopia. Later it was exported to many places like South America by the Spanish and Java in Indonesia by the Dutch.


At an early stage the Coffee Houses got a great importance as meeting places. Not least in the Middle East due to Islam’s prohibition against wine and alcohol. The first coffee house in Europe was started in Venezia in 1645, and the European coffee houses and cafés became very important as centres for political, literary and scientific discussions. The Coffee House was the place from where news was spreading, and many of the British Empire’s institutions have directly been founded in the coffee houses in London.


So, when you next time visit a Café you are expected to think great thoughts and breathtaking plans for the future!


Coffee also came to Denmark in the late 17^th century.  It was only sold in pharmacies. And only very rich people could afford buying it. It was only during the 19^th century that coffee was common among most people.  


Some of them got a good idea.  Aquavit was also much in use – and still very cheap.  So, they invented a special mixed drink prepared in the following way:   first, you put a coin in an empty cup. Then you pour coffee on the top of it, until you can’t see the coin any more. Then you add aquavit until you can see the coin again.  And if the cup or mug is big, you might at the end not be able to see anything – after you have been drinking it 😊  But most people thought that such a mixture was a nice and pleasant start of the day – and made them see everything in a more positive light!