DID YOU KNOW?

COFFEE

Ahh! Nothing says Sunday morning than the smell of a fresh, brewing, pot of coffee. Growing up, my parents had coffee morning and night, breakfast and supper, but the Sunday cup was the one that seemed to be most anticipated and relished. Our family tradition was that you weren’t allowed to drink coffee until you had made your First Communion. On that auspicious day, we would be given a half-cup of coffee, topped off with cream and a healthy dose of sugar to make it palatable to a seven year-old. Having watched the forbidden nectar be enjoyed by two older brothers and the parents, there wasn’t any way I wasn’t going to enjoy that cup when I finally got my hands on it! Full disclosure - although it is now a morning staple for me, at that moment the anticipation far outweighed the reception.
 
One legend has it that coffee entered the world of humanity from a 9th c. goatherd of Ethiopia. A goat herder named Kaldi, noticed erratically tipsy and hyper behavior among the goats after they ate a particular cherry type fruit. After many efforts to turn the fruit into something possible for human consumption, the enterprising goatherd hit upon the idea of pitting the fruit, roasting the seeds, and grinding them into a dust that was then brewed in boiling water. After drinking the brown broth, he felt energized! 
In spite of the bitter taste of the outcome, the daily ritual was born.
 
Ironically, the brew ran into controversy from the start. Due to its rather addictive nature, it traveled quickly from Ethiopia through the Middle East and into Europe. It was first recorded as being produced in large volumes in the 15th century. Just as quickly, religious and political leaders put a ban on the drink. Sultan Murad IV made it a capital offense to be caught imbibing, and the brave “coffee-totalers” would risk beheading in order to get their daily dose. A similar religious suspicion arose among the people of Europe. Due to its origins in the Islamic Nations, it was declared a “bitter invention of Satan’s” and it was prohibited by the Catholic Church.
 
Did you know that the whole matter was laid to rest by the intervention of Pope Clement VIII (1536-1605). Members of his court were begging him to formally denounce the “devil’s drink”. Pope Clement sampled the coffee for himself and decreed that it was as much a Christian drink as it was a Muslim drink. He is reputed to have said, “This devil’s drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We should cheat the devil by baptizing it!”

Cathy Pressimone
EMCC Parish Life Coordinator
Master Catechist