Saturday, April 02, 2011

The Devil's Brew

(My husband's coffee maker. We call it THE HOLY OF HOLIES!)

What do church history and coffee have in common, you ask?

In her aptly titled book, "Coffee," Claudia Rosen explains that 16th-century priests wanted Pope Clement VIII to ban "the devil's drink." They insisted that Satan had forbidden his followers--Muslims--from drinking wine because it was used in Holy Communion. Instead, the devil provided this "hellish black brew".


The elixir made from coffee beans does in fact have a long history in Islamic regions.
--African tribes mixed the crushed beans with animal fat and molded them into balls to eat as a stimulant before battle.
--Arabs made the first hot coffee beverage, in 1000 A.D.
--Dervishes--mystic devotees of Islam's Sufi sect--consumed coffee at all-night ceremonies as fuel for achieving religious ecstasy.
--Arabs also invented the ibrik, or coffee broiler.
--As coffee lost it's strictly religious significance, the first coffee houses appeared in Mecca.

Clemente VIII,wisely, decided to give it a taste test!

"Why, this Satan's drink is so delicious," he declared, "that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall cheat Satan by baptizing it."

And so, I am now able to enjoy my coffee, which my husband makes and serves me each morning. Now that's romantic!



My favorite coffee is a Venezuelan blend. Cafe Madrid! We are out of it now, but are substituting with a Brazilian coffee we purchased here. My son in law recently left us some great Costa Rican coffee too.



Do you drink coffee? How much and how often? Any favorite blend?

5 comments:

marion said...

Informative blog: Twice a day I enjoy a cafe expresso fix - no milk and two sugars! Cafe Melitta Especial from Brazil. Best Coffee I ever had was in Morocco - but I really really love spanish (african) coffee: Café Carajillo ! =) google it to see special added ingredient and we'll make some for you some time.

Anonymous said...

I don't care for drinking coffee. I like stuff that has a slight coffee flavor, though. Oh, what a relief that it has been baptized and is no longer of Satan! I can enjoy it with a clear conscience now. :)

redneck preacher said...

Wolf Coffee, Local brand in No CA. Very strong and dark. 4 cups a day (large mugs) I grind it just before it is brewed. Starbucks and the like is, to me, weak and a little bitter. My wife wants me to cut back so I am thinking of 10cc right into a vein. That should do it.

HTOITA

Most Rev. Gregori said...

I drink only cup of coffee a day, during the fall, winter and spring seasons, and that is in the morning.

In the summer months I enjoy Cà phê với nước đá a Vietnamese ice coffee made with a French Roast coffee brewed through a special filter (called a phin) placed atop a tall glass containing two to three tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk.

It is a perfect drink on a hot summer day. I'll usually drink two of those a day.

Heather Wheelock said...

Once you've lived in Costa Rica, there is no other coffee :-) We have it specially shipped in! One cup a day in the morning or I'm not a very happy mommy! Praise the Lord for a good husband that makes sure it's always ready and waiting for me!