12 poems inspired by coffee

Today at The Coffee Shop , we explore poetry in coffee .

We've already told you some legends about the origin of coffee, most notably the tale of the shepherd Kaldi and his crazy goats. He brought those berries to a religious man at a nearby monastery. The old man immediately disapproved of their use and threw them into the fire. But at that moment, an intoxicating balm captivated him, prompting the wise man to plunge his hands into the embers and extract the roasted beans. He then poured them into hot water, and thus made the world's first cup of coffee. We believe poetry is made from that same intoxicating balm.

Coffee is more than just a beverage; it is mystery, it is culture, it is love and friendship; it is, in the vast territory encompassed by its two syllables, poetry. A cup of coffee wakes a person up to start their day by activating their brain and producing endorphins very similar to those of love.

The connection between poetry and coffee could be a story of encounter, of how one day poetry met coffee, invited it to sit at its table as equals while it was being written, tasted it, and compared it to all the sensations that came with a sip. That's how they were never separated again; coffee needed poetry to name it, and poetry needed coffee to inspire it.

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That may have been the first story, but it's certainly not the only one, and certainly not the last. Many poets around the world have used coffee as a source of inspiration and as an excuse for their metaphors.

Therefore, we have found for you some connections between poetry and coffee, from the hands of poets who have immortalized coffee in poetry through their writing.

The authors named are just a few of the renowned poets who include coffee in their poems. This connection has endured over time; we can see modern references and expressions of it, or even in books dedicated entirely to it, such as Rakhi Kapoor’s “Express Thoughts: When Coffee and Poetry Come Together,” where she invites tea drinkers to replace it with coffee. She says, “Words strung together in a quote, poem, or story can give you the same rush as caffeine.” “Who cares if the cup is half empty or overflowing as long as it’s a cup of coffee? Tea lovers, please replace coffee with tea.”

Also in 2016, poetry became the new currency in coffee shops around the world for a day, thanks to an Austrian company that offered a free cup of coffee to customers who submitted a poem. This World Poetry Day campaign spread to 34 countries and was a recognition of those unrecognized poets who can still have a cup of coffee on the side even if they can't afford it.

If you're a poet or poetry lover, you can enjoy one of our coffees during your day. If not, you can always share our articles with anyone you love who might be interested in reading Poetry in Coffee.