CW: Food, religion, a bit of poop, but not human poop
Coffee has had a long journey through history, exploring itself, changing itself… getting chewed up and pooped out. It was once the devil’s drink, the MAN’s drink, inspiring people to move the world… but most importantly, the swaying power of coffee convinced people to give coffee a dunk in the baptismal font. That’s a lot for a bitter little fruit, and we’re not talking about ourselves.
As the description of this book says: “this book brings together the facts and ephemera relating to this globally crucial beverage, examining its origins and the stories of its discovery, its production and its growing popularity over time.”
I referenced this book several times over the episode. Here’s how the blurb describes it: “the story of coffee from its discovery on a hill in ancient Abyssinia to the advent of Starbucks. Mark Pendergrast reviews the dramatic changes in coffee culture over the past decade, from the disastrous “Coffee Crisis” that caused global prices to plummet to the rise of the Fair Trade movement and the “third-wave” of quality-obsessed coffee connoisseurs.”
This is the text for The Women’s Petition Against Coffee.
And here is the image of the petition that goes with the last link.
A 1652 handbill advertising coffee for sale in St. Michael’s Alley, London. It is held in the British Museum. I read some of this aloud in this episode.
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