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Java: Facts Or Trivia

See Coffee Trivia And Facts. Through the years since it was discovered, coffee had acquired a long and colorful history. As such, it had gained some very colorful historical sidelights through the ages. Here are some of them, collected by some ardent scribes for their novelty perhaps, or for some other reasons known only to them.

Of course, for the modern reader, some of these anecdotes and declarations sounded apocryphal and dubious. For all they’re worth, here are some of them. 

coffee or divorce

In Turkey, bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with java. Failure to do so would be grounds for divorce.

The sniff squad

Once in Germany, the government hired a special force group known as Kaffee Schnufflers. Their duty? Sniff out the illicit java roasters and smugglers. It was an intense campaign initiated by King Frederick who thought coffee drinking soldiers could not be depended on. Fortunately, he fell in love with coffee, and the campaign was disbanded. 

Sock it to me, pardner

Back in the Old West, the drink was called Cowboy java. It was their style of making java: putting ground coffee into a clean sock, immersing it in cold water, and heating it over the campfire. When ready, they would pour the coffee into tin cups to drink. Somebody claimed it tasted great, too.

coffee beauty treatment

The Japanese, the third largest consumer of coffee in the world, had another use for coffee. Or at least the leftover grounds. Fermented with pineapple pulp, the coffee grounds were used as bathing aids to improve their skin and reduce wrinkles. 

coffee bean counter

Beethoven, a known java lover, was not only particular about his music. He was also particular about his coffee brew. He always wanted 60 beans for each cup of his coffee. 

coffee punch drunk

It was also said that Honor de Balzac, the famous 19th century French writer, drank up to 40 cups of coffee every day.  

coffee lessons

In the 17th century, javahouses in London were called “penny universities” because a person could buy a cup of coffee for 1 cent and get educated by the discussions inside.

Blowing in the coffee wind

Well-known performers such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan began their careers performing in coffeehouses. Another singer, Lightnin’ Hopkins, complained about his woman’s neglect with her domestic situation because of her coffeehouse socializing in his 1969 song, coffeehouse Blues.

Must be the coffee

In 1686, the first javahouse was opened in Paris. It was called Le Procope, and it is STILL in business today.

The java song

In 1732 Johann Sebastian Bach composed his Kaffee-Kantate. It was in part an ode to coffee and a stab at the movement in Germany that wanted to prevent women from drinking coffee.

Bless this coffee

Once in the past, java was believed to be the devil’s drink. Pope Vincent III heard about it and decided to taste it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying “coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels (Muslims) have exclusive use of it.” 

Freedom coffee

Both the American Revolution and the French Revolution were born in coffee houses. The American Revolution was developed by patriots who were customers in the Green Dragon (some say it was the Green Lion) Public House in London. 

Fraternity liberty equality coffee

The infamous French Revolution in 1789 was spurred on by Camille Desmoulins’s verbal campaign in coffeehouses. People took to the streets and two days later the Bastille fell, marking the overthrow of the French Government and changing France forever. 

Coffee, for all its delicious history before, will surely have more stories to come in the future. May the future citizens of the world still enjoy its exquisite flavor and the accompanying stories as well!

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