American Coffee and pragmatic religious Scholars give three reasons against Coffee

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From the written information provided by Brodale, we can see what happened to coffee before it was introduced into Europe. In the 15th century it became a "drinking" liquid instead of a solid ball made of coffee beans. But he did not explain why coffee is repeatedly banned in the Islamic world. American author Stewart Lee Allen visited the Islamic world by way of travel, although it has been hundreds of years, we can still see the traces of coffee causing conflict in the Islamic world in the 16th century.

As a crop that can affect the human state of mind, coffee was associated with religion and primitive rituals in the early days. In Ethiopia, where coffee originated, in addition to the Oromah, who used coffee beans as a pre-war dessert, other tribes also have coffee prayer rituals, which are called "bun-qalle" in the local language. although the name of the ceremony is the same, it has different meanings among their tribes. The Gali see the peeling of coffee beans as a slaughter, while the Oromaos see coffee beans as a sexual symbol. "We are going to open coffee beans like having sex for the first time after marriage." During the Ottoman Turkish Empire, coffee was introduced into the Islamic world, followed by the mystery and religion of the drink itself.

Coffee was very popular when it first entered the Islamic world, mainly because Islam advocated abstinence and no drinking. As a result, coffee became an ideal substitute, especially the Sufi who represented mysticism, who first used coffee in religious rituals. Moreover, the emergence of coffee seems to give Muslims who have long lived in the world of abstinence a room to release their desires and imagination in this liquid, such as the addition of ambergris, which is said to have an aphrodisiac effect. This has caused resentment among other traditional Islamic sects, such as Sunnis. Whether drinking coffee in the Grand Mosque is blasphemous or not has sparked debate in the Islamic world.

In the History of Coffee Addiction, there are three reasons given by religious scholars against coffee:

First, it will cause drunkenness, so it is the same as drinking and should not be allowed; second, pantheism will pass a cup of coffee by hand before prayer, which is closely related to drinking; third, the coffee beans should be roasted to "oxidation". This behavior is also prohibited by the Koran.

However, the square, represented by the Sufi faction, also gives its own reasons: the Koran does not explicitly prohibit coffee. What is not expressly prohibited in the Koran is not blasphemous. This debate, which began with coffee, gradually evolved into a discussion of the Koran, resulting in ambiguity, thus affecting the authority of the religious hierarchy. So, as Brodell combed out the timeline in his book: coffee was banned in Mecca in the 16th century to maintain religious authority, and if someone was caught drinking coffee on the spot, he was beaten; after that, Cairo banned the sale of coffee in 1539.

Therefore, in the process of spreading to the world, coffee has the meaning of freedom and openness. In the 16th century, Muslims were whipped if they were caught drinking coffee, while in the 17th century, if King Murad IV saw you drinking coffee in the street, he would cut off your head. The reason is simple, because drinking coffee has become an act of gathering people to chat and discuss politics. And this is the role of coffee in Europe over the next few centuries.

Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish novelist, wrote a novel about Istanbul at the end of the 16th century, and there was a lot of violence in the cafes. This drink has become the center of the conflict between modern civilization and traditional culture.

Coffee in Europe: scoundrels without refills and free thinking

Because of the brutality of King Murad IV of Sudan, no one dared to sell or drink coffee in Istanbul, so coffee merchants had to look outside. After the tossing and turning of French and Venice merchants, coffee began to be introduced into Europe. The Viennese and Italians took the lead in improving the coffee, filtering out the residue in the Turkish coffee, and then adding milk to the coffee to create the world's first cappuccino-- about the milk in the coffee. Turkish coffee does not have milk because locals believe that coffee and milk mix can cause leprosy On the other hand, Indians will add a lot of milk to turn coffee into a cup of milk, because in their culture, cows are a symbol of health and holiness, and they think that a thing is best only if it is added with milk.

Coffee from different regions not only combines unique cultures, but also impacts the living habits of the original European civilization. The British like to add mustard, radish, champagne and mint to their coffee, while the Germans have invented a kind of coffee called "flower cup", which is so light that the pattern at the bottom of the cup can be seen through the coffee liquid. At the same time, the drink began to replace beer in countries such as Britain and France. Perhaps this change in living habits has improved the spiritual outlook of Europe. If we look at the description of European social features before the 17th century, we can often see streets full of alcoholics and people shaking their heads out of their homes. Since water management in Europe has been unsanitary since the Middle Ages, many people will choose beer, a purer liquid, instead of drinking water. In the 17th century, the breakfast for most Germans was "beer mixed with a thick layer of eggs and poured on the bread." Therefore, after the emergence of coffee, beer or coffee has become a problem that European society has to face.

Almost all the Puritans, scholars and upper-class people chose coffee. First of all, in terms of effect, coffee will undoubtedly make people look more refreshed. A person who drinks beer every day will only be drunk, while a person who drinks coffee will be glowing. As the opposite of alcohol, European doctors have also promoted a range of benefits of coffee, including relieving alcohol, promoting digestion, treating diseases such as scurvy, and increasing immunity. Later, British women opposed drinking coffee out of opposition to traditional drinking habits, believing that drinking beer can promote the secretion of testosterone and enhance sexual ability, while coffee is a "product of castrates". Of course, this opposition did not last long. From a personal point of view, coffee has changed the social image of Europeans, who have gone from being bewildered to energetic and talkative. On the social side, the emergence of coffee and cafes has also promoted the process of democratic politics in Europe.

In the Turkish world half a century ago, Murad IV banned two things: coffee and a hookah, because people would chat while enjoying them. Europeans took full advantage of this, first in London, then Paris and Vienna, and a large number of cafes began to be set up. Unlike today's Chinese cafes, when we walk into Chinese cafes today, we are more likely to enter a private space where the atmosphere is quiet and there are at most two or three small circles of people discussing something, in terms of the use of space. it makes more sense of consumption, and in any case, we will not associate the words coffee shop with the poor in China. But in Europe, coffee shops are called "sanctuaries for the poor". In cold winters, people can buy a cup of coffee, sit all day in a warm coffee shop, and then chat, discuss something, or do their own work. While listening to the voices around, the coffee shop has become a public space. And because of the developed shipping, coffee is not expensive in Europe and anyone can afford it.

In 1870, people discussed it in a cafe in Paris.

In spite of this, some people will pretend to be poor in this "sanctuary for the poor".

Perhaps the most infamous of them is the philosopher Sartre. According to the waiter in the cafe, Sartre often came to the cafe, ordered only a cup of coffee, then drank it slowly, never refilled the cup, and spent the whole day in the cafe. Of course, in addition to the existentialist Sartre, there are also French Cubists, surrealists and so on, who all like to stay in the coffee shop in this way. At the same time, in order to avoid embarrassment, these people have to find some topics and take turns to make their own speeches, which has also stimulated the rise of many art schools in Paris. Rambo's Dead Rat Cafe, Sartre and Camus's Flower God Cafe, Picasso's Hare Tavern, Apolinel's Round Pavilion Cafe. These cafes have become the shrines of thought and art in the 20th century.

It is said that Sartre's habit of not refilling his cup of coffee made him the worst customer in Paris. This habit has also caused many Parisians to emulate, for this reason, cafes in Paris have specially raised the price of coffee. Today, coffee in Amsterdam costs only $2, while a cup of coffee in Paris costs $7. As a result, the number of cafes in Paris has halved since the beginning of the 20th century, and the ideological and artistic influence of Paris is far less than it used to be.

French historian Jules Mishley wrote, "it is because of the emergence of coffee that people develop new living habits, but also change the temperament of the people, bring a bright vision to the people and open the light of truth." For comparison, take a look at Germany, which is full of beer. They never gave up their taverns. At the same time, they launched an "anti-coffee initiative" at home on the grounds that coffee was imported from French seaports at that time. If the Germans drink coffee, then their enemy, France, will be richer and richer. After comparing the development of different countries in the 20th century, Stewart Lee Allen wrote:

"this anti-coffee advocacy is very successful, so Germany has always been a caffeine-free and democratic country in Europe, and the rise of the Nazi Party in World War II was also due to the absence of these two things. It is worth mentioning that the followers Hitler attracted in his speech went to bars rather than cafes. To be fair, another example is that Gandhi, a vegetarian like Hitler, is also opposed to drinking coffee.

Coffee is thus associated with the atmosphere of freedom and democracy. So what about coffee in the United States, which was founded on this basis, in the distant New World?

American Coffee and pragmatism: approximately equal to stimulants

There is not much to say about American coffee, because it is recognized by many people as the worst coffee in the world, which is probably equal to hot water + instant powder.

When the author of "History of Coffee Addiction" saw the cooking steps of American coffee, he also lamented that it was the stupidest way to make coffee so far-mixing coffee beans with an egg and eggshell, adding cold water, then putting them in a boiler and adding hot water. Stir with a fork and boil for 12 minutes; turn off the fire and drink while it is hot. "No coffee bean in the world can withstand such a bad practice like an atomic bomb," Lee Allen wrote. However, today the United States has become the country that drinks the most coffee in the world.