Morning Tradition
I have ingested coffee since early childhood. Mom would mix coffee and milk 50/50 in my baby bottle. She was ‘old school’ on the benefits of this naturally caffeinated beverage.
I was always a natural early riser. At age 4 years, my morning duty was to brew coffee for Daddy. We used an old Drip-o-Later.
I suppose my early preference was milk with my coffee was a holdover from my time in the crib.
A prospective renter of one of our apartments influenced my coffee preferences. He effected a change from coffee with milk to black coffee. I explain.
As I awaited Mom to make the deal with this offshore roughneck, I offered coffee. He readily accepted my offer. My cup first received milk before filling it with black coffee. I thoughtfully turned to the young roughneck, asking, “How do you like your coffee?” He responded, “Real men drink it black.” I instantly emptied my cup and refilled it with black coffee. As Paul Harvey used to say, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
Coffee has been my drink of choice every morning for all of my life.
History is a favorite topic. Coffee is a topic worthy of its history. Who drank the first cup of coffee? Where does it come from? Is coffee good for my health?
What in the world stimulated this topic? I arose at 0330 hours (3:30 am for you lubbers). I found a report in my inbox. It was from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and was titled “How Nuclear Science Uncovers the Story of Coffee.”
Coffee beverages did not originate with Starbucks, regardless of the ideas of the Gen Zers.
Back to earth. Isn’t all coffee pretty much the same? Why is the IAEA involved? Is it a crime anywhere to mix coffee beans from different countries. Well, no. But there should be such a law.
I have enjoyed local coffees in Lima, Peru. I’ve also tried them in San Salvador, El Salvador, and various Mexican cities. My favorite coffee experience of all was Cuban coffee in Santiago de Cuba. My wife and I were there annually for several years.
A Cuban tradition is to serve morning coffee in large cups. Coffee later in the day is served in tiny cups. My Cuban friends made an exception for me by serving my later-in-the-day coffee in a large cup.
Throughout my early years here in the United States, the coffee brand of choice has been Folgers. Not anymore.
When Sam’s Clubs first came to our area, we joined. Later, with the establishment of a Costco Wholesale club in Rockwall, Texas, we discovered Kirkland-branded coffee.
I wanted to know the origin of Kirkland Coffee. Obviously, it was not shipped directly from Colombia in South America.
There is no secret Costco’s and Starbucks’ corporate headquarters are located in Washington State. 100% Colombian Supremo Bean Dark Roast Coffee (dark roast) is not a Starbucks product. According to the Costco Food Database: 15 Things To Know Before Buying Kirkland Coffee (Coffee Beans, Is It Any Good + more). Called Rogers Family Coffee is the source of my favorite coffee.
What was the origin of coffee?
I turned to the online Encyclopedia Britannica: history of coffee from which I quote:
Wild coffee plants (Coffea species) are thought to have been native to an Ethiopian plateau region known as Kefa (Kaffa), though the exact history of their origin and domestication remains unclear. One of many legends about the discovery of coffee is that of Kaldi, a goatherd who was puzzled by the strange antics of his flock. About 850 ce Kaldi supposedly sampled the berries of the evergreen bush on which the goats were feeding and, on experiencing a sense of exhilaration, proclaimed his discovery. At some point, perhaps as late as the 15th century, coffee plants were taken across the Red Sea to southern Arabia (Yemen) and placed under cultivation. Tradition holds that Sufi monks were among the first to brew coffee as a beverage and used the stimulation to pray through the night.
Whatever the actual origin of coffee, its stimulating effect undoubtedly made it popular in Arabia. Ironically, though some Islamic authorities pronounced the drink intoxicating and therefore prohibited by the Qurʾān, many Muslims were attracted to the beverage as a substitute for alcohol, also prohibited by the Qurʾān. Despite the threat of severe penalties, coffee drinking spread rapidly among Arabs and their neighbours and even gave rise to a new social and cultural entity, the coffeehouse.
Back to my morning coffee…
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 