It is doubtful to whom we owe the introduction of this article of luxury
into Europe. The plant is a native of that part of Arabia called _Yemen_,
but we find no mention made of it until the sixteenth century; and it is
believed that Leonhart Rauwolf, a German physician, was the first writer
who spoke of it, in a work published in 1573. The plant was also described
by Prosper Alpinus, in his treatise on Egyptian plants, published in 1591
and 1592. Pietro della Valle wrote from Constantinople in 1615 that he
would teach Europe the manner in which the Turks made their _cahue_. This
spelling was no doubt incorrect; for, in a pamphlet printed at Oxford in
1659, in Arabic and English, it is written _kauhi_, or _coffee_. Purchas,
who was a contemporary of Della Valle, called it _coffa_; and Burton thus
speaks of its use: "The Turks have a drink called _coffa_, so named of a
berry as black as soot and as bitter, which they sip still of, and sup as
warm as they can suffer. They spend much time in their coffa-houses, which
are somewhat like our alehouses and taverns, and there they sit chatting
and drinking to drive away the time and to be merry together, because they
find by experience that kinde of drink so used helpeth digestion and
procureth alacrity."
The first coffee-house opened in London was in 1652. A Turkey merchant, of
the name of Edwards, having brought with him from the Levant some coffee
and a Greek servant, he allowed him to prepare and sell this beverage;
when he established a house in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, on the spot
where the Virginia Coffee-house now stands. Garraway's was the first
coffee-house opened after the fire in 1666. It appears, however, that
coffee was used in France in 1640; and a sale of it was opened at
Marseilles in 1671.
The introduction of this berry was furiously opposed; and it appears that
in its native land it was treated with no less severity, since, in an
Arabian MS. in the King of France's library, coffee-houses were suppressed
in the East. In 1663 appeared a pamphlet against it, entitled "A Cup of
Coffee, or Coffee in its Colours." In 1672 the following lines were to be
found in another publication, "A Broadside against Coffee, or the Marriage
of the Turk:"
Confusion huddles all into one scene,
Like Noah's ark, the clean and the unclean.
For now, alas! the drench has credit got,
And he's no gentleman who drinks it not.
Then came "The Woman's Petition against Coffee," which appeared in 1674,
in which we find the following complaint: "It made men as unfruitful as
the deserts whence that unhappy berry is said to be brought, so much so,
that the offspring of our mighty ancestors would dwindle into a succession
of apes and pigmies; and on a domestic message a husband would stop by the
way to drink a couple of cups of coffee." It was then sold in convenient
pennyworths;--hence coffee-houses where wits, _quidnuncs_, and idlers
resorted, were called "penny universities."
While it had adversaries, coffee was not left without eloquent advocates.
Sir Henry Blount, in his _Organon Salutis_, 1659, thus speaks of it: "This
coffa-drink has caused a great sobriety among all nations. Formerly
apprentices, clerks, &c. used to take their morning-draughts in ale,
beer, or wine, which often made them unfit for business. Now they play the
good-fellows in this wakeful and civil drink. The worthy gentleman, Sir
James Muddiford, who introduced the practice hereof in London, deserves
much respect of the whole nation."
It appears, however, that the jealousy with which the use of coffee was
viewed, even by the government, arose more from the nature of the
conversations that took place in coffee-houses during moments of public
excitement, than from the apprehension of any injury that its consumption
might have caused to the public health. In the reign of Charles II.
coffee-houses were shut up by a proclamation, issued in 1675, as the
retailing of coffee "nourished sedition, spread lies, _scandalized great
men_, and might therefore be considered a _common nuisance_." As a
_nuisance_, its abolition was considered as not being an infringement of
the constitution! Notwithstanding this Machiavellian torturing of the
letter to serve the spirit, this arbitrary act occasioned loud and violent
discontent; and permission was given to reopen coffee-houses, on condition
that the landlords should not allow any scandalous papers containing
scandalous reports against the government or _great men_ to be read on
their premises!
The use, or rather the abuse, of coffee is said to produce feverish heat,
anxiety, palpitations, trembling, weakness of sight, and predisposition to
apoplexy. Its effects in checking somnolence have been long known.
However, the action of this berry differs according to its being roasted
or raw. An infusion of torrefied coffee assists digestion, and frequently
removes headaches resulting from derangement in the digestive functions.
It also neutralizes the effect of narcotics, especially opium, and this
power is increased by the addition of lemon juice. A similar mixture has
been known to cure obstinate agues. Musgrave and Percival recommended its
use in asthma: indeed, most persons who labour under this distressing
malady seem to derive relief from its use.
Taking into consideration all that has been advanced in regard to the
inconveniences that may attend the use of coffee and tea, they must be
considered as overruled by the moral results that have arisen from the
introduction of these beverages; and a late writer has observed, that it
has "led to the most wonderful change that ever took place in the diet of
civilized nations,--a change highly important both in a moral and physical
point of view. These beverages have the admirable advantage of affording
stimulus without producing intoxication." Raynal observes, that the use of
tea has contributed more to the sobriety of the Chinese than the severest
laws, the most eloquent discourses, or the best treatises on morality.
The quality and effects of coffee differ according to the manner in which
it is roasted. Bernier states that when he was at Cairo there were only
two persons in that great city who knew how to prepare it to perfection.
If it be underdone, its virtues will not be imparted, and its infusion
will load and oppress the stomach; if it be overdone, its properties will
be destroyed, and it will heat the body, and act as an astringent.
The best coffee is the _Mocha_, or that which is commonly called Turkey
coffee. It should be chosen of a greenish, light, olive hue; the berries
of a middling size, clean, and plump.
The bad effects of coffee may in all likelihood be attributed both to its
powerful and stimulating aroma and to its pungent acidity. According to
Cadet, this acid is the _gallic_; while Grindel considers it the _kinic_,
and Pfaff terms it the _caffeic_ acid. When strongly heated, it yields a
_pyro-caffeic_ acid, from which may be obtained a most pungent vinegar,
that has recently been thrown into trade, but, I believe, with little or
no success.
The principle of coffee is the _caffein_, discovered by Robiquet, in 1821;
and it is to this active principle that its beneficial or baneful effects
can be attributed. Recent experiments tend to show that it is possessed of
powerful febrifuge virtues. To obtain this result, raw coffee has been
used. It gives to water a greenish hue, and, thus saturated, it has been
called the _citrine coffee_. Grindel has used this preparation in the
treatment of intermittent fevers in the Russian hospital of Dorpat; he
also administered the raw coffee in powder. In eighty cases of this fever
scarcely any resisted the power of this medicine, given either in
decoction, powder, or extract; but he seems to consider the latter form
the most effectual. From this physician's observations, coffee may become
a valuable addition to our _materia medica_; and the homoeopathic
practitioners maintain that they have employed it with great success in
various maladies.