Coffee
"101" >> Coffee
History >> Coffeehouse
Evolution
Coffeehouse Evolution
Historically, the drink was only consumed
on the advice of a physician or as part of a religious ceremony,
but quickly became very popular. After coffee began to lose
its religious and medicinal associations, the first coffee houses
or qaveh khaneh were established in Mecca. Due to the gambling,
music, and social and political discussions that took place
in coffee houses, 16th century rulers deemed them a threat.
The government, aided by clerics who felt coffee houses distracted
the faithful, and physicians who wanted to sell coffee as an
expensive medicine, tried three times to close them down. They
failed, and eventually the government realized that coffee houses
could provide tax revenue.
The prototypical cafés of Damascus and Constantinople were the
beginning of what we have come to know as the modern café. They
were simple and comfortable places of leisure, a welcome refuge
from the desert. Friends met to talk, and entertained themselves
playing backgammon and chess. It is also said that the game
of bridge originated in cafés in Constantinople.
After coffee became popular in cafés, it soon moved into the
home, where an elaborate ceremony rivaling the Japanese tea
ceremony evolved. A special room, the K'hawah or coffee hall,
was the scene of the ceremony where the host and his guests
invoked the blessings of Allah. The host then roasted the beans,
crushed them with a mortar and pestle, prepared the drink, then
drank the first cup to ensure everyone that it was safe.
Coffee soon became ubiquitous, with Arab drivers who stopped
alongside the road, roasted their beans, and prepared coffee.
The first coffee break! Merchants and barbers served coffee
to their customers, and Turkish wives could divorce their husband
if he failed to provide them with coffee.
Traditionally, the Arabians, who refused to allow the plant
out of the country, guarded coffee jealously. In 1650 a native
of India named Baba Budan strapped seven coffee seeds to his
belly and smuggled them home, where he planted and nurtured
them. Today, the descendants of these trees produce 1/3 of India's
coffee.
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