Coffee in England immediately took on a social quality. "The social associations of coffee drinking go back, indeed, to the beginnings of its use in Arabia" (Von Huenersdorff xiv). The coffeehouses that emerged as a result of the drink's popularity became pivotal social institutions. Even when not taken in public, coffee was a special treat: something to be taken with company, over which discussion would take place. While it was usually taken black, coffee could also be taken with sugar - another commodity relatively new to Western Europe.
The reputation of coffee varied greatly depending on the motivation of the author. Some doctors believed it was great because they matched it with their own creations or concoctions. Others believed it to the source of many evils. "Coffee's detractors thought in induced melancholy and paralysis, as well as the trembling of the limbs" (Wild 88). Yet these, and other criticisms did nothing to stop the popularity of the drink. The great philosophers saw it as both an interesting modern trend and the center of one of the most important institutions of their times. "Coffee was the great soberer, the drink of clear-headedness, the epitome of modernity and progress - the ideal beverage, in short, for the Age of Reason" (Standage 136).
Because of their many similarities, coffee was often put together with tea and chocolate in various works. They all arrived in Western Europe around the same time. This was truly an international time to drink. With chocolate from South America, tea from China, and Coffee from the Near East, the discerning man in the Age of Reason would have many flavors to sample. These drinks were very different for England because they were hot - something quite new. "To a society with no history or habit of drinking hot beverages, coffee was a perplexing, and not entirely likable, phenomenon" (Ellis 115). Any reservations were quickly dispelled by the unique taste and side effects of coffee. These were widely written about and often compiled with treatises on tea and chocolate. These were taken together as "a metaphor for the expanding gastronomic, and intellectual, horizons of Europe, the cosmopolitanization of the European palate matching the growing European familiarity with the world as a whole" (Van Huenersdorff xvii). The following selections represent works about coffee that range from popular, general works to medical dissertations concentrating on certain aspects of coffee consumption.
Because of their many similarities, coffee was often put together with tea and chocolate in various works. They all arrived in Western Europe around the same time. This was truly an international time to drink. With chocolate from South America, tea from China, and Coffee from the Near East, the discerning man in the Age of Reason would have many flavors to sample. These drinks were very different for England because they were hot - something quite new. "To a society with no history or habit of drinking hot beverages, coffee was a perplexing, and not entirely likable, phenomenon" (Ellis 115). Any reservations were quickly dispelled by the unique taste and side effects of coffee. These were widely written about and often compiled with treatises on tea and chocolate. These were taken together as "a metaphor for the expanding gastronomic, and intellectual, horizons of Europe, the cosmopolitanization of the European palate matching the growing European familiarity with the world as a whole" (Van Huenersdorff xvii). The following selections represent works about coffee that range from popular, general works to medical dissertations concentrating on certain aspects of coffee consumption.
Popular Books about the Curative Powers of Coffee
A great many works were written about coffee throughout this time. "The half-century between 1650 and 1700 saw the production of the first European coffee treatises matching the depth and scope of [those from Arabia] of a century before" (Von Huenersdorff xvii). The importance of the following works is that they were intended for general audiences, as opposed to an academic audience. While two of these items are in English, they are all originally in other languages. This is most certainly not to say that there were no originally English works on Coffee, but rather that they were unavailable for this examination. As attested by extensive bibliographies, a great number of works about coffee were written throughout Europe at this time. These selections were made from the wonderful collection at The Lilly Library for when they were published, wonderful illustration, and interesting histories.
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| The Manner of Making of Coffee... |
Dufour wrote a number of works about coffee, and even helped to create a number of myths. In a 1671 work, he published the idea that coffee sobers drunken people. "The notion that coffee counteracts drunkenness remains prevalent to this day, though there is little truth to it" (Standage 136). This work, and the following are among the most influential writings about coffee widely available at this time. This volume concentrates specifically how the beverage was concocted and the social manner in which it was taken. Dufour created not only a manual, but also a history of coffee beans and the drink. Of course, his scholastic standards were quite different from those of today, but he does refer to the earliest European work that discusses coffee by Prosper Alpinus. This is not a remarkably pretty book, but it is very important for the ideas it presents and its timeliness with which it came out. Dufour's opinions on the consumption of the newest beverages was considered both important and insightful.
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| Title page of Dufour's work |
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| Traite du Cafe |
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| Title page of Blegny's work |
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| Section on Coffee |
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| Title page of Duncan's work |
Duncan was a practicing physician of the Faculty of Montpelier. As evidenced by this work, he was quite against the consumption of hot beverages. This work has been called a "rambling and repetitive diatribe" against hot drinks, yet Duncan willingly recognizes merits of coffee in moderation (Von Huenersdorff 447). Duncan quotes various medical opinions, many of which are in favor of coffee as an effective digestive and as a method for keeping awake. This is not a particularly pretty work. Aside from the title page shown to the left, there are no illustrations that accompany the text. Perhaps Duncan felt that showing a picture of the various beverages might entice his readers to drink them.This is an important work because it is entirely against coffee, as well as other beverages, in its outset, yet is unable to fully deny the possible benefits of the drink.
Medical Dissertations about Coffee
Scientific investigation, as we think of it today, evolved from the early experiments by men during the Age of Reason, which correlates with the arrival of coffee. During this time, men sought to explain all aspects of the natural world as they saw it, especially medical aspects. The following three selections are medical dissertations by the Medical Faculty of Paris between 1697 and 1751 focusing on the impact of coffee on health. These were all inaugural dissertations presented at Paris University, "On questions of the dietary and therapeutic uses of coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, beer, wine, spirits, bread, sugar, and tobacco" (Lilly Catalog). Naturally, these selections deal specifically with coffee.
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| Au potus Cafe cum lacte salubrior? |
The question addressed in this dissertation ponders "the question of whether or not coffee taken with milk is more beneficial to health" (Von Huenersdorff). This work includes both the proposed terms as well as responses. Given the academic nature of this work, it is entirely in Latin. This dissertation topic is quite interesting because it combines two of the several dietary supplements that were being questioned by the Medical Faculty at that time. Without full knowledge of Latin, it is difficult to determine what conclusion they decided upon. The fact that this was considered a legitimate dissertation topic seems amusing today, but is consistent with the spread of knowledge and investigation of the time.
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| Litteratis-ne salubris Cafe usus? |
Quaestio Medica: Litteratis-ne salubris Café usus? Michael Peaget, Guidone-Crescento Fagon presiding professor. Paris, 1716.
This dissertation argues that "coffee is beneficial to the health of literary people" (Von Huenersdorff 1137). This work includes both the proposed terms as well as responses. This work is entirely in Latin. The fact that questioning whether coffee was healthy for literary people demonstrates the popularity of the drink and the prevalence it held over society. In London, in particular, coffeehouses became associated with certain trades, and those relating to authors, poets, and the like were quite famous. It is a simple correlation to deduce that a similar situation must have been taking place in Paris for the Medical Faculty at the Paris University to concern themselves with the issue.
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| An à frequentiori potu Cafe vita brevior? |
This inaugural dissertation argues that "frequent intake of coffee may shorten life" (Von Huenersdorff 1028). This work includes both the proposed terms as well as responses. This work is entirely in Latin. Despite investigation, there seems to be no apparent reason why this particular dissertation is more elaborate than the others. Perhaps it was a famous medical student, or perhaps it occurred on an important day. Regardless of the reason, this particular dissertation is much more attractive than the others with a beautiful woodcut header and first initial. It is intriguing that this work falls as just at the end of the century of coffee in England. By the end of the hundred years of coffee's reign, perhaps the medical faculty believed they had enough evidence to prove that coffee consumption could shorten the average life.
