Coffee—You Going Qahway?
Legend has it that the first of God’s creatures to know the pleasures of “qahway” (or as we know it, coffee) was a goat. A young Arab goatherder, Kaldi, after tending his herd for some time, took note of the strange dancing behavior his goats exhibited after eating the crimson berries from a bush he had never seen before. Eating some of the berries himself, Kaldi soon joined them, dancing as it were, under the hot desert sun.
Stumbling upon the merriment one day, a Muslim mullah inquired if Kaldi and his flock had, to put it politely, been out in the sun too long. Kaldi told the holy man of the red berries and the two parted company.
The Wine of Araby
The daily practice of Islam is built around a cycle of prayer. Depending upon the particular sect of Islam, the amount of time spent each day on prayer and meditation can be long and arduous. As it was, later that same day, the holy man in our story fell asleep in the mosque during prayers. Allah, it seems, had been noticing this growing tendency among his faithful of late and was not especially pleased by it. So, during his mullah’s nap, he sent the Prophet Mohammed to the holy man in his dreams to deliver a message. The Prophet explained Allah’s position on sleep and prayer and suggest that the mullah gather some of Kaldi’s berries, boil them in water, drink the potion, and then pray. With the recipe came a guarantee that the mullah and his congregation would be wide awake from that day forward. And so it was.
Islam’s prohibition against the ingestion of wine or alcohol saw the new beverage make its way out of the mosque and into Arab homes in short order. With its popularity came the name for the new potion—the “wine of Araby”—or to be somewhat more linguistically precise, the “qahway of Araby”.
Spreading the Word
By the time Columbus and his followers began to sail the ocean blue, the seeds and green beans of the qahway plant were also being used by the faithful to make their holy beverage. As the wheels of commerce grinded forward, the drink’s popularity spread by merchants in the 1600s to Europe where qahway was phoneticized, with its typical Western accuracy, into the word coffee.
Back in the Arab world though, the little bean’s fame created a new problem—the “faithful” were spending less time in the mosque and too much time in the newfound network of coffeehouses, complete with an assortment of dancers, singers, and gamblers—none of which pleased the Islamic leaders of the 17th century. As is the case with so many good things, the holy men tried to outlaw coffee. Fortunately, the Caliph of Cairo, the dominant leader of most of the Muslim world at the time and a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, was an ardent coffee addict and so quashed the brewing holy war that no doubt would have followed this futile act of prohibition.*
It’s Not an Addiction—It’s a Devotion!
Sitting in the backseat of my Saturn, my son and his friend Matt were rambling incessantly about video games. I turned to the middle-schoolers and said, “It sounds like you’re addicted to this stuff.” Matt paused and politely said, “It’s not an addiction—It’s a devotion.”
That pretty much sums up how I feel about coffee. In my case, espresso or a Turkish brew—black, no sugar, please.
Apparently, I’m not alone. In the two decades since that enlightened exchange with the tweens, American coffee consumption has surged by 37%.
According to the National Coffee Association, we drink more cups of joe than cups of water. In a typical 24 hours, U.S. coffee drinkers down enough java to fill over 44 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The average American drinks about three cups of coffee between hitting the floor each morning and hitting the sheets at night. Almost two-thirds of us enjoying it daily with 70% imbibing at least once a week. Of those devotees, 84% will start their day with a brew at breakfast.
Coffee Confessional
Coffee consumption increases with age. The NCA found that folks over 60 accounted for the largest surge among American consumers of joe since 2019.
But many of us were introduced to coffee culture as children.
Harkening to my Adriatic immigrant roots, as a toddler my afternoon snack often consisted of a cup of coffee. Granted, it was laced with copious amounts of milk and sugar. But it was perfect for dunking day-old Italian bread.
These days I’ll often find parents with their young’uns at local coffeehouses. As was the case when my son was a preschooler and beyond, the kids aren’t usually having a caffeinated brew. Yet, it’s hard to ignore the imprint their parental sighs at that first sip of heaven must have on them.
Caffeine Intoxication … Too Much of a Good Thing
However, as they enter adolescence, many young people turn to a different source of caffeine—energy drinks and soft drinks. Again, kids may simply be following the lead of the adults in the house. On the other hand, this may also speak to advertising that targets young people.
A study cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that children between the ages of six and ten drink caffeine eight out of ten days. Aside from developing a caffeine and sugar dependency, that kind of intake can lead to neurological and cardiovascular issues.
Health concerns from overconsumption of caffeine aren’t limited to children and adolescents.
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration consuming over 400 ml of caffeine creates caffeine intoxication. That’s about four or five cups of coffee and enough to make someone jittery or cause headaches. However, get to twelve cups of joe and the health issues ramp up.
A National Institutes of Health study found cases in which this excessive level of caffeine consumption led to neurological impairment. Symptoms included “anxiety, hallucinations, migraines, swelling of the brain and seizures.” Death rarely occurs from caffeine intoxication. However, a separate study cited cases which were fatal. But these deaths were primarily linked to use of over-the-counter caffeine pills and not your morning brew.
Take Two Cups and See Me in the Morning
Perk up! If you’re like most of us, the two or three cups of joe you drink each day are good for you! In fact, it may be just what the doctor ordered!
In addition to the caffeine, coffee has antioxidants and other substances which boost our health along with our energy. According to experts from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine a couple of cups a day can be the perfect prescription. Evidence shows it can help stave off coronary disease, stroke, renal disease, diabetes, and cancer. A daily dose of joe improves liver function, too. Coffee’s also been shown to help prevent Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia as well as control the symptoms when these conditions do develop.
Of course, that all is based on coffee. Period. Add in milk, cream, sugar, all those syrups, and … well … that cup can get unhealthy in a hurry!
Curious Coffee Facts
Two-thirds of American coffee drinkers make their brew using either a drip coffee maker or single-cup machine. Popularity of the latter of these has almost doubled since 2019.
Coffee on the go means there’s almost a 50/50 chance you’re ordering at a drive-thru window.
The darker the bean, the less caffeine. Roasting evaporates the oils in the beans and reduces the amount of caffeine in them.
Decaffeinated doesn’t mean caffeine-free. Decaf brands can contain less than 1% of the caffeine or as much as 15% of their fully caffeinated sibling.
For some lucky folks (he says, raising his hand) coffee and caffeine have a paradoxical effect. Rather than a stimulant, caffeine relaxes these folks. Yup! When I can’t sleep, I just have four shots of espresso. Within 30 minutes I’m off to dreamland! Be jealous!
Food Nerds, Like Me
Long before I became a food writer and Ian Makay was born, my bookcases featured a variety of ancient cookbooks and food-related titles. Among those, The Early English Coffee House by Edward Robinson added to my appreciation of these places. It also helped inspire my love of culinary history and lore.
Most contemporary tomes on coffee cover roasting and brewing your own. For food nerds like me, The World Atlas of Coffee delves into that, but dives deeper. In addition to a brief history of coffee, author and world champion barista James Hoffmann gives readers a world tour of current regional sources and variations on the bean.
#CaffiendsUnite!
In conclusion, it’s fair to assume that most of you reading this have coffee in the house. And, no doubt, someone near and dear to you has an app on their phone for joe on the go!
Whatever your brew, there’s a wonderful brotherhood and sisterhood that unites us all. Whether just an average Joe/Jo looking for a morning jolt or a coffee connoisseur, that scent and first sip sing a song that only we can hear. And cup of coffee transcends those sensual pleasures. It sets the stage for the possibilities of a new day where anything is possible with a proppa cuppa joe!
*This article features excerpts from Ian Makay’s Food for Thought: The Pleasures of the Table: Primi Piatti.
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