I recently attended the Bradford Literature Festival and one of the events I was lucky to go to was “The Muhammadan Bean: The Secret History of Islam and Coffee,” a talk by Abdul-Rehman Malik. He talked about the history of coffee and how the Arabs introduced coffee to the world.
It appears that the history of coffee is as complex as a cup of the drink. It’s surrounded by an air of mystery. One of the things that we do know is that the history of the bean is irrevocably tied to the history of Islam.
The plant was discovered in Ethiopia supposedly by a herdsman name Kaldi, who spotted one of his goats eating the red cherries of a strange bush before becoming lively and exuberant.
Physician and philosopher Ibn-Sina wrote about coffee in his encyclopedia, talking about its medicinal properties, 1,000 years ago.
The coffee plant was introduced to the Arabian Peninsula nine centuries ago. Initially, it had a limited appeal. It was the Arabs that first took to roasting the beans over fire and grinding them up. There was opposition from the sheikhs who said that the new drink was not compatible with the nature of man. However, the Sufis took to the caffeinated bean with vigor, as it was an excellent way to be able to stay up late at night praying.
From here, the bean traveled on to Makkah. In 1453, coffee houses became common in the city, with people using them for religious meetings. However, the scholars insisted that the drink should be counted as an intoxicant, saying it caused ills in the body and weakness in the mind. This split people, half of whom thought coffee was bad and half of whom believed that it was merely a stimulant. However, coffee continued to spread all over the Islamic world, becoming popular in Egypt and Turkey. Students would drink lots of coffee to stay up, singing the praises of the Prophet and reciting the Qur’an.
There were numerous conflicts, backed by scholars on both sides around whether the plant was appropriate for consumption. There were edicts in its favor and against it. The then governor of Makkah, Khayr Bey, banned the drink, fearing the discussions that it provoked might lead to him being overthrown. The Sultan of Cairo repealed the ban, saying coffee was sacred. He had Khayr Bey executed for embezzlement. Then coffee was banned in Egypt eight years later, with coffee warehouses and cafes raided and sacked. The rise of coffee was unstoppable. It moved across the continent to Constantinople and Venice in the 17th century, and then to the rest of Europe. The first cafe in England was opened in 1652 and soon coffee houses sprung up everywhere, the home of many vigorous political and philosophical conversations. There were even calls for it to be banned in England due to its strong impact on the body.
Coffee is now held in an esteemed light, consumed all around the world. It plays an important social role, and the beans are a source of income for many countries such as Brazil, Ethiopia and Columbia. Coffee house culture continues today with the rise of the “third wave” coffee movement. People meet to chat and exchange ideas, just like they would in 15th Century Makkah and Cairo. I enjoy thinking about that while I sit and write this with a steaming cup of Americano on my desk.
It appears that the history of coffee is as complex as a cup of the drink. It’s surrounded by an air of mystery. One of the things that we do know is that the history of the bean is irrevocably tied to the history of Islam.
The plant was discovered in Ethiopia supposedly by a herdsman name Kaldi, who spotted one of his goats eating the red cherries of a strange bush before becoming lively and exuberant.
Physician and philosopher Ibn-Sina wrote about coffee in his encyclopedia, talking about its medicinal properties, 1,000 years ago.
The coffee plant was introduced to the Arabian Peninsula nine centuries ago. Initially, it had a limited appeal. It was the Arabs that first took to roasting the beans over fire and grinding them up. There was opposition from the sheikhs who said that the new drink was not compatible with the nature of man. However, the Sufis took to the caffeinated bean with vigor, as it was an excellent way to be able to stay up late at night praying.
From here, the bean traveled on to Makkah. In 1453, coffee houses became common in the city, with people using them for religious meetings. However, the scholars insisted that the drink should be counted as an intoxicant, saying it caused ills in the body and weakness in the mind. This split people, half of whom thought coffee was bad and half of whom believed that it was merely a stimulant. However, coffee continued to spread all over the Islamic world, becoming popular in Egypt and Turkey. Students would drink lots of coffee to stay up, singing the praises of the Prophet and reciting the Qur’an.
There were numerous conflicts, backed by scholars on both sides around whether the plant was appropriate for consumption. There were edicts in its favor and against it. The then governor of Makkah, Khayr Bey, banned the drink, fearing the discussions that it provoked might lead to him being overthrown. The Sultan of Cairo repealed the ban, saying coffee was sacred. He had Khayr Bey executed for embezzlement. Then coffee was banned in Egypt eight years later, with coffee warehouses and cafes raided and sacked. The rise of coffee was unstoppable. It moved across the continent to Constantinople and Venice in the 17th century, and then to the rest of Europe. The first cafe in England was opened in 1652 and soon coffee houses sprung up everywhere, the home of many vigorous political and philosophical conversations. There were even calls for it to be banned in England due to its strong impact on the body.
Coffee is now held in an esteemed light, consumed all around the world. It plays an important social role, and the beans are a source of income for many countries such as Brazil, Ethiopia and Columbia. Coffee house culture continues today with the rise of the “third wave” coffee movement. People meet to chat and exchange ideas, just like they would in 15th Century Makkah and Cairo. I enjoy thinking about that while I sit and write this with a steaming cup of Americano on my desk.
