Chapter 1
The secret life of the coffee bush
Chapter 2
Bizarre bans and historical hysterics
Chapter 3
Animal assistants and ecological allies
Chapter 4
From bean to brain
Ch 2 · Bizarre bans and historical hysterics
futura Catholic priests feared coffee from the Ottoman Empire was a Satanic threat, but the Pope declared it too delicious to ban
futura Mecca Coffee Ban of 1511
They burned the coffee beans but the Sultan said let it brew
futura Londoners bought penny coffees to debate politics and plot against the English monarchy
Fun Fact
Smuggled seeds: No coffee seeds could leave the Middle East in the 1600s unless they were boiled or dried, until Baba Budan smuggled seven fertile seeds out in his beard.
Glossary
prohibition (noun)
A law or order that forbids something. In 1633, Sultan Murad IV enforced a strict prohibition on coffee to prevent rebellious political gatherings.
A law or order that forbids something. In 1633, Sultan Murad IV enforced a strict prohibition on coffee to prevent rebellious political gatherings.
Quiz
Why were early European priests suspicious of coffee when it first arrived in the 16th century?
Quiz
Which religious leader famously saved coffee from a European ban by jokingly baptizing it in 1600?
Quiz
What nickname did 17th-century English coffeehouses earn because of the cheap access to intellectual debates?
Quiz
Which Swedish monarch ordered a twin experiment to prove that coffee was a deadly poison?
Quiz
What was the primary political reason governor Khair Beg banned coffee in Mecca in 1511?