It’s one thing to enjoy coffee or even to struggle to form coherent thoughts in the morning before having a nice, steaming cup. It’s quite another to be willing to damn yourself for it. While this dilemma may sound absurd today, there was a time in the 16th century when many Christians couldn’t look at a cup of the dark brew without questioning its implications. Did each sip bring them closer to the gates of hell? Was coffee a spiritual trap, a demonically inspired beverage meant for the damnation of Christian souls?
The matter was so serious that even the pope had to weigh in on it.
A dark Arabian beverage. Coffee has a history akin to the greatest sagas–full of myths and legends. However, its origins are often traced to a specific time and place: Kaffa, Ethiopia, in the ninth century. Around 850 A.D., a shepherd named Kaldi observed that his goats became more lively after eating berries from a particular bush. Then, Kaldi decided to try the berries himself and shared his discovery with an imam, who believed that the resulting liquid could help his followers stay awake during prayers.
Over time, the plants that the goats enjoyed spread to Southern Arabia. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the beans eventually made their way to Europe. However, the story is more nuanced and complex. Some say that the Muslims who settled in the Iberian Peninsula some centuries earlier consumed a beverage called brunchum, a variety of choava made with “certain black seeds.” Regardless of this, by the 16th century, Christian Europe was witnessing the arrival of the new, dark, and stimulating liquid from the distant lands of Islam.
Sour, exciting... and reliable? The fact that coffee originated from the other side of the Mediterranean, from the so-called “land of the infidel,” raised questions in the 16th century. For many Europeans who were beginning to access coffee or saw it being enjoyed by those who could afford it, a critical concern arose. Was this drink, which was so popular among Muslims, trustworthy, especially considering Catholics had fought fierce battles against them in the Holy Land?
According to experts, some Europeans referred to coffee as “Satan’s drink,” while others called it “Arab wine.” Regardless of the nicknames, its consumption sparked suspicion among devout Christians. In fact, the concerns became so pronounced that the Church of Rome decided to intervene.
“Eventually, coffee did make its way into Christian Europe. Soon a heated debate began to percolate. There were those in the Church who felt that because of the origins and history of the beverage, Christians should never drink coffee,” prelate Ronald Gainer pointed out in 2020. As such, the contentious discussion about the spiritual implications of indulging in this bitter brew eventually reached the highest levels of the Church, including the pope.
A stimulating drink... or a damning one? This was the dilemma faced by Pope Clement VIII, who served as the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church from 1592 to 1605. It’s said that around 1600, the pope’s advisors suggested that he condemn the dark, exhilarating brew.
The intent was for Pope Clement VIII to declare that the drink, which had gained popularity in the Muslim world, was indeed a “bitter invention of Satan.” However, before reaching a conclusion, the pope decided to sample the drink himself. His experience must have been quite revealing, likely reminiscent of what the shepherd had lived centuries earlier when he discovered coffee.
Blessed beans. “Before pulling the plug on coffee, however, Clement decided to give it a try. After a few sips, rather than condemning it, he declared that coffee was ‘fit for Christian lips,’” Gainer explains. Some versions of the story go further, claiming that the pope even joked about who should claim ownership of this delicious creation, which also served as an effective remedy against sleep. “Why, this Satan’s drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall fool Satan by baptizing it and making it a truly Christian beverage,” the supreme pontiff reportedly said.
But is it history or legend? A reliable chronicle or an apocryphal account? Established facts or speculation? More than four centuries have passed since the pontificate of Clement VIII. Today, some authors question the accuracy of these stories, claiming that there are no reliable sources to support them. Whether they’re right or wrong, what’s undeniable is that they’ve gained enormous popularity over the centuries.
“A truly catholic taste.” Gainer also addressed the passion of the pope for coffee. “[Clement] demonstrated a truly catholic taste. It would have been easy for him to jump on the ideological bandwagon of exclusivity and condemnation. Instead, he decided to judge not on the fact that it came from a non-Christian world and culture but rather on coffee’s own merits,” he said.
The Italian pontiff must have been genuinely passionate about Arabica coffee because he wasn’t always so tolerant. He was the Catholic leader who ordered astronomer Giordano Bruno to be sentenced as a heretic. This story has a much darker ending, culminating in Bruno being burned at the stake in 1600. Interestingly, according to tradition, Clement VIII joked about baptizing the roasted grain beverage in that same year.
A massive success. One thing is clear: Coffee has become a cultural institution over the last four centuries. Whether or not Clement VIII made a joke about "Satan’s drink,” coffee has successfully spread throughout the West. The industry now boasts a market volume of $88.3 billion.
Its journey hasn’t always been smooth. Even with the Vatican’s blessing, coffee’s history has been marked by controversy and prohibitions. Initially, Muslim authorities weren’t particularly fond of this intoxicating beverage. For example, Sultan Murad IV would walk incognito through the streets of Istanbul, ready to punish anyone who defied the law against its consumption.
But that’s a story for another time.
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