by Fran Paino, a.k.a. F. Della Notte

Coffee is a staple of life all around the world. Something I can understand and agree with. In “Coffee Facts and Statistics,” Lark Allen offers fascinating stats on the American Coffee habit.

A once famous bishop said, “Americans may not consider themselves ‘addicted’ to coffee, but the average American is physically, biologically, psychologically, and neurologically unable to do anything worthwhile before he has a cup of coffee. And that goes for prayer, too.”  The Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

 What is coffee, anyway? A scientific answer can be found in The New Rules of Coffee: A Modern Guide for Everyone, where authors Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlson go into lengthy detail about different types, brands, and varieties of coffees. They point out, “Like wine grapes, arabica or robusta plants have their own typicity and genetic diversity.” After more botany details than one might want to read, they conclude, ‘… you’re talking about a piece of fruit with seeds inside.’ Just like wine grapes. Yes? And like wine, coffee has an ancient history.

There is much speculation about the origins of coffee. Still, all agree that coffee originated in the high-altitude forests of Ethiopia, Sudan, and Kenya and goes back to a time when North America was yet unknown to the extant world. My favorite possibility/story/myth about the discovery of coffee is the legend of Kaldi, first told by Antoine Faustus Nairon, a Maronite who became a Roman professor of Oriental languages. His treatise is considered one of the first ever written on coffee, in 1671, Rome.

The legend takes us to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), where a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his unfriendly goats changed after eating berries from a particular tree that grew in the forest high up on the Abyssinian plateau. They became lively and more pleasant and couldn’t sleep at night. Kaldi decided to eat the berries and found himself filled with energy. Not knowing what to do, Kaldi brought some to the Islamic abbot of a nearby Sufi monastery. The abbot brewed the berries into a drink and found that it kept him awake throughout the long, required hours of night prayers. The abbot informed other monks who tried the brew made from these berries, and word spread rapidly eastward and reached the Arabian Peninsula, then spread throughout the world. Before coming to the United States, coffee found its greatest fans in European cities.

America’s love affair with coffee is estimated to have begun as early as 1607, when John Smith, founder of Jamestown, Virginia, introduced it to the colonists. Here are other fun facts, supplied by A.I., about coffee’s rise to power in the U.S. Tracing coffee in the United States, one can find specific dates and activities. In 1670, Dorothy Jones became the first person to sell coffee in Boston, Massachusetts, and in 1697, the Dutch opened the first coffee house in New York. In 1713 a Dutch merchant presented a coffee tree to King Louis XIV of France. George Washington recorded in his diary in 1760 that he attended a ball where coffee was served. Coffee grew in popularity after the 1773 Boston Tea Party. Understandable, I’d say. One of the most interesting activities around coffee took place during the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Coffee was a standard issue ration for the Union and Confederate armies. The soldiers on both sides often ran out of food and supplies, including coffee and tobacco. Union and Confederate soldiers occasionally exchanged northern coffee for southern tobacco along the quieter fronts.

Today, in the U.S., we no longer worry about north and south for our coffee supply. We may buy it in coffee shops such as Starbucks and sometimes sit down, but we most often take it away.  In Europe, however, the takeaway culture hasn’t taken over. In Italy and France, it is customary to drink a small, strong shot of espresso standing at the bar. This is considered a quick, social interaction, with many people opting to savor it at the bar while chatting with the barista or friends. 

Some key points about European coffee bar customs: Espresso is the norm. Most European coffee cultures center around espresso as the standard coffee order, with variations like “lungo” (longer shot) or “ristretto” (shorter, stronger shot) available depending on what one prefers.  Standing at the bar to drink it is common, and it’s paid for before receiving the drink.  Morning coffee is different. While espresso is enjoyed throughout the day, milk-based drinks like cappuccino or café au lait are often considered more of a breakfast item. 

Country-specific nuances: In Italy: “Un caffè” means a single espresso, and it’s considered a faux pas to order a cappuccino after lunch. In France, “Café” refers to a standard espresso, and a “café au lait” is a coffee with a more significant portion of milk.  In Spain, the term ‘solo’ is received as a request for espresso coffee served in a small glass.  

Here in the United States, we drink our coffees sitting, on the go, in large or small containers or cups. Most Americans prefer their coffee with at least some milk and often with sugar or artificial sweeteners.

I love my coffee any time of the day, but in the late afternoon, I bow to caffeine’s power to keep me awake at night, so I cheat and switch to decaf.  

Thus, it is no surprise that the protagonists in the Housekeeper Mystery Series, Father Melvyn Kronkey, is an unusual Irishman who prefers coffee to tea, a habit instilled in him by his trusty right hand, Mrs. B. Over many a cup of coffee, they use wit, intellect and intuition to reason out motives and solve crimes.  

In book four, Murder in the Cat’s Eye, now underway on the pages and in Italy, Father Melvyn, and Mrs. B. take a group of parishioners to Rome to study the lives of ancient Christians, living in a harsh, pagan society, and how they flourished after being outlawed, and punished by gruesome deaths. But will Father Melvyn and Mrs. B. only deal with the ancient world, or will they find themselves embroiled in current crimes, death, and destruction in a strange country? Watch for it in late spring or early summer.

Meanwhile, Happy Reading!