Drinking coffee in the morning is a custom for millions of people around the world. For many cultures, this simple yet wonderful beverage is a ceremony, one we not only consume early in the morning, but also at midday, in the afternoon, and even at night. It's roughly four or five cups of coffee that are a must-have in our daily routine. "Let's have a coffee and be friends" is the everyday phrase that invites us to share a delicious cup of coffee at home, on the go, and at work. This indispensable beverage, although it may seem impossible to believe, faced many difficulties and powerful opponents in its early days who prevented its consumption at all costs. Coffee was banned in many countries over the centuries. As I was saying, there were many obstacles and detractors it had to fight against; but in the end, its consumption always prevailed, and even amidst so much opposition, its popularity and preference grew more and more every day. I'm going to tell you some anecdotes that remind us how, in different countries around the world, from their very origins, laws were passed and persecutions were instigated against coffee consumers, sellers, and distributors, but in the end they didn't prosper because coffee always emerged triumphant.
Middle East
You know that coffee arrived in Arab countries in the 17th century, thanks to the prohibition of alcohol in this culture for religious reasons. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, rejected in his holy book, the Quran, any substance that harmed his followers' physical and mental health. For this reason, substances such as wine or tobacco were not permitted in this doctrine, which governed not only the religious context but also the political and economic contexts. The fact is that coffee became popular in the vast Arab community, giving rise to the first coffee shops known in the world. These establishments quickly became meeting places for conversation, entertainment, and business. Perhaps the main reason why these meeting places were censored, just like coffee, was because they became places where intellectuals, philosophers, and thinkers, who were strong opponents of the government in power at the time, gathered. However, coffee also encountered double-standard Gothic or conservative opponents who labeled coffee as a diabolical beverage that was an attack on Islam.
In the East, some sultans attempted to eliminate coffee consumption. The main reason was that it was classified as a drug that could affect people's behavior. They called it the devil's drink. They considered coffee 's bitter taste to be diabolical. In 1633, in Constantinople, Sultan Murad IV ordered the closure of all coffee houses and banned alcohol, tobacco, and coffee, under penalty of death. Coffee had been popular in Constantinople for over a century, and its prohibition, on the contrary, increased its popularity. And, even under the threat of death, the shops continued to operate clandestinely. After Murad IV's death, although the prohibition law remained in effect, coffee consumption again became popular and proved to be economically advantageous for the empire.
At the time coffee was introduced to Arab villages, coffee shops became the cradle of liberalism, where intellectuals, primarily philosophers and scholars, gathered. Therefore, orthodox and conservative imams (Muslim priests) sought to ban coffee consumption in Mecca and Cairo between 1511 and 1532. However, the ideological currents rooted in the coffee shops and the popularity of coffee forced the authorities to reverse the law.
In 1511, two doctor brothers from Persia persuaded the Emir Khair-Beg that coffee was an intoxicating drink, which led to diversions prohibited by the laws of Muhammad. The Emir convened an assembly of doctors and physicians, who decided that coffee was contrary to the Mohammedan faith and harmful to health. Khair-Beg issued the decree prohibiting its consumption. Coffee became a rebellious drink and a means of combating the Islamic state of Mecca. The Sultan, who resided in Cairo, ordered the ban to be lifted, as he considered it an innocent beverage. However, years later (1534), the hatred of coffee by some fanatics divided the city into two camps: the pro-coffee advocates, who saw coffee as a pure, healthy drink that excited joy and facilitated the singing of praises to God and devotional exercises. The other side was the Intransigents, who considered it an intoxicating drink or a kind of wine. They claimed that on the day of resurrection, coffee drinkers would have darker faces. The sheikh (religious leader) called a meeting in which it was decided to enforce the prohibition on coffee, which made it more popular than ever. Coffee shops then increased in number, frequented by educated people, judges, professors, and even dignitaries. Due to the academic quality of their clients, these shops became known as "Schools of the Wise." Only the wealthy entered these cozy and comfortable establishments. But other coffee shops also became popular, visited by all kinds of people: vagrants, idlers, dancers, and prostitutes. This caused the Muslim priests to once again cry out, claiming that the faithful were abandoning the temples for the coffee shops. They managed to close the establishments, but this was for a short time, because they reopened them, and in larger numbers.
The Islamist government recognized the economic importance of coffee to them, as there were so many coffee shops that if they closed them, the tax revenues these businesses paid would be significantly reduced. Moreover, coffee became such a necessary beverage for people, especially women, that the Islamic State granted them a divorce law, setting the grounds for divorce if the husband failed to provide his wife with a daily ration of coffee.
Europe
Remember that the Venetians and Dutch brought coffee to Europe through the Muslim Empire around 1600. In different countries, as you'll see below, coffee also had to face enemies and detractors.
In Germany, it was also considered the devil's drink. It was especially reviled by Protestant landowners, who, with their power, successfully banned it, arguing that coffee caused sterility in both men and women. They prohibited its consumption for over a century, until the government finally authorized its sale and consumption, but at the cost of extremely high taxes, adding to the displeasure of Frederick the Great, who said: "My people must drink beer; His Majesty was raised on beer, just like his ancestors."
In Italy, some Catholic priests also believed that coffee was a beverage created by the devil. For this reason, they tried to convince Pope Clement VIII to ban it, claiming it was a satanic drink for infidels. The Pope tried it, loved it, and authorized it for the entire Catholic world, adding the following comment: "To leave the pleasure of this drink only to infidels would be a shame!"
In England, two attempts were made to ban coffee houses. In 1674, a group of women signed a petition alleging that they alienated their husbands, who preferred to spend their time in these places rather than stay at home with them. Later, Charles II banned coffee houses because revolution was brewing in these places, which defamed His Majesty's government and disturbed the peace and quiet of the kingdom.
Although coffee is widely consumed in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), this wasn't always the case. When it first arrived, people loved it, except for King Frederick I, who in 1746, to curb its consumption, imposed a high tax on coffee. This regulation created a thriving black market for coffee. Government officials confiscated coffee-making equipment and fined consumers until it was banned completely in 1756. The anecdote is told that King Gustav III of Sweden, seeking to convince the people that coffee and tea were very harmful to health, conspired with two doctors to certify his claims. They then experimented on two twin brothers sentenced to death, claiming that their sentences would be pardoned if they survived after consuming three cups of coffee (one of them) and three cups of tea (the other twin) a day for a certain period of time. The king died at 43, and in time, the doctors also died, and the twin brothers lived more than 80 years drinking coffee without it harming them.
Russia
Coffee has always been very popular in Russia, but it was in the 19th century, during the reign of the tsars, that coffee drinkers suffered brutal persecution, with punishments including torture and mutilation of the nose and ears; and for heavy drinkers and distributors, the penalty was death. The tsarist government's reasons were not religious, but political and commercial. On the one hand, they believed that coffee upset the population, making it more prone to revolution. On the other hand, the extremely high consumption of coffee affected the trade of beer produced in Prussia. The punitive measures, despite being so brutal, did not achieve its prohibition; rather, they encouraged people to continue drinking coffee.
21st Century
Well, as we move into the 21st century, when all doubts about the harms of coffee have been scientifically dispelled, it is now considered a medicinal, antioxidant, and defense-rich beverage against many diseases. Yet, today, when coffee is said to be the most consumed beverage on the planet, after water, we find cultures that reject it, such as Switzerland, which banned it in 2019, considering it to be of low nutritional value. Also, the evangelical Mormon sect banned it that same year, considering it an addictive and dangerous drug for humans.
Finally, dear reader, I share with you the thoughts of someone renowned for their research and contributions to this exquisite beverage: βCoffee is an intellectual stimulant, a pleasant way to feel your energy increase without any obvious negative effects. Coffee shops allow people to meet and talk, unwind, conduct business, reach agreements, compose poetry, and freely express their thoughts and feelings.β