All About Coffee

by William H. Ukers

A Poem by Guillaume Massieu of the French Academy
(A literal prose translation from the original Latin in the British Museum.)

How coffee first came to our shores,
What the nature of the divine drink is, what its use,
How it brings ready aid to man against every kind of evils,
I shall here begin to tell in simple verse.
You soft-spoken men, who have often tried the sweetness of this drink,
If it has never deceived your wishes or mocked your hopes
With its empty results, be propitious and lend a willing ear to our song.
And may you, O Phoebus, kindly be present, to acknowledge
As your gift the power of herbs and healthful plants, and to
Dispel sad diseases from our bodies; for they say you are
The author of this blessing, and may you spread your
Gifts among peoples, and everywhere far and wide throughout the entire world.
Across Libya afar, and the seven mouths of the swollen Nile,
Where Asia most joyfully spreads in immense fields
Rich in various resources and filled with fragrant woods,
A region extends. The Sabeans of old inhabited it.
I believe indeed Nature, that best parent of all things,
Loved this place more than all others with a tender love.
Here the air of Heaven always breathes more mildly.
The sun has a gentler power; here are flowers of a different clime;
And the earth with fertile bosom brings forth various fruits,
Cinnamon, casia, myrrh, and fragrant thyme.
Amid the resources and gifts of this blessed land,
Turned to the sun and the warm south winds,
A tree spontaneously lifts itself into the upper air.
Growing nowhere else, and unknown in earlier centuries,
By no means great in size, it stretches not far its
Spreading branches, nor lifts a lofty top to heaven;
But lowly, after the manner of myrtle or pliant broom,
It rises from the ground. Many a nut bends its rich branches.
Small, like a bean, dark and dull in color,
Marked by a slight groove in the centre of its hull.
To transplant this growth to our own fields
Many have tried, and to cultivate it with great care.
In vain; for the plant has not responded to the zeal
And desires of the planters, and has rendered vain their long labor;
Before day the root of the tender herb has withered away.
Either this has happened through fault of climate, or grudging
Earth refuses to furnish fit nourishment to the foreign plant.
Therefore come thou, whoever shall be possesed by a love for coffee,
Do not regret having brought the healthful bean from the far
Remote world of Arabia; for this is its bountiful mother country.
The soothing draught first flowed from those regions through other
Peoples; thence through all Europe and Asia,
and next made its way through the entire world.
Therefore, what you shall know to be sufficient for your needs,
Do you prepare long beforehand; let it be your care to have collected
Yearly a copious store, and providently fill small granaries,
As of yore the farmer, early mindful and provident of the future,
Collected crops from his fields and garnered them in his barns,
And turned his attention to the coming year.
None the less, meanwhile, must the utensils for coffee be cared for.
Let not vessels suited for drinking the beverage be lacking,
And a pot, whose narrow neck should be topped by a small cover
And whose body should swell gradually into an oblong shape.
When these things shall have been provided by you, let your
Next care be to roast well the beans with flames, and to grind them when roasted.
Nor should the hammer cease to crush them with many a blow,
Until they lay aside their hardness, and when thoroughly ground,
Become fine powder; which forthwith pack either in a bag or a box made for such uses.
And wrap it in leather, and smear it over with soft wax, lest
Narrow chinks be open, or hidden channels.
Unless you prevent these, by a secret path gradually small
Particles and whatever of value exists, and the entire strength,
Would leave, wasting into empty air.

Camel Transport Between Harar and Dire-Daoua, Abyssinia

Sun-Drying in La Laguna, Philippine Islands
COFFEE SCENES IN THE NEAR AND THE FAR EAST

There is also a hollow machine, like a small tower, which they
Call a mill, in which you can bruise the useful fruit of the
Roasted bean and crush it with frequent rubbing;
A revolving pivot in the middle, on an easy wheel turning,
Twists its metal joints on a creaking stem.
The top of the wheel, you know, is pierced with an ivory handle
Which will have to be turned by hand, through a thousand revolutions,
And through a thousand circles it moves the pivot.
When you put a kernel in, you will turn the handle with quick hand—
No delay—and you will wonder how the crackling kernel is
With much grinding quickly reduced to a powder.
Once only the lower compartment receives on its kindly bosom
The crushed grains, which are placed in the very depths of the box.
But why do we linger over these less important matters?
Greater things call us. Then is it time to drain the sweet
Draught, either under the new light of the early sun
In the morning, when an empty stomach demands food;
Or, when, after the splendid feasts of a magnificent table
The overburdened stomach suffers from too heavy load, and
Unequal to the demands made upon it, seeks the aid of external heat.
Then come, when now the pot grows ruddy in the fire
Crackling beneath, and you shall behold the liquid, swelling
With mingled powdered coffee, now bubble around the brim,
Draw it from the fire. Unless you should do this, the force of
The water would break forth suddenly, overflowing, and would
Sprinkle the beverage on the fire beneath.
Therefore, let no such accident disturb your joys.
You should keep watch carefully when the water no longer
Restrains itself and bubbles with the heat; then return
The pot to the fire thrice and four times, until the powdered
Coffee steams in the midst of the fire and blends thoroughly with the surrounding water.
This soothing drink ought to be boiled with skill, to be drunk
With art—not in the way men are wont to drink other beverages—
And with reason; for when you shall have taken it steaming from
A quick fire, and gradually all the dregs have settled to the
Very bottom, you shall not drink it impatiently at one gulp.
But rather, sip it little by little, and between draughts
Contrive pleasant delays; and sipping, drain it in long draughts,
So long as it is still hot and burns the palate.
For then it is better, then it permeates our inmost bones, and
Penetrating within to the center of our vitals and our marrow,
It pervades all our body with its vivifying strength.
Often even merely inhaling the odor with their nostrils, men
Have welcomed it, when it has bubbled up from the bottom,
More refreshing than the breeze. So much pleasure is there in a delicious odor.
And now there remains awaiting us the other part of our task,
To make known the secret strength of the divine draught.
But who could hope to understand this wonderful blessing
Or to be able to pursue so great a miracle in verse?
For really, when coffee has quietly glided into your body,
Taking itself within, it sheds a vital warmth through your
Limbs, and inspires joyous strength in your heart. Then if
There is anything undigested, with fire's help, it heats the
Hidden channels, and loosens the thin pores, through which the
Useless moisture exudes, and seeds of diseases flee from all your veins.
Wherefore come, O you who have a care for your health!
You, whose triple chin hangs on your breast,
Who drag your heavy stomach of great bulk,
It is fitting for you, first of all, to indulge in the warm
Beverage; for indeed it will dry the hideous flow of moisture
Which oppresses your limbs, and sends forth streams of perspiration from your whole body.
And in a short time, the swelling of your fat belly will
Gradually begin to decrease, and it will lighten your members, now oppressed by their heavy weight.
O happy peoples, on whom Titan, rising, looks with his first light!
Here, a rather free use of wine has never done harm.
Law and religion forbid us to quaff the flowing wine.
Here one lives on coffee. Here, then, flourishing with joyous strength
One pursues life and knows not what diseases are,
Nor that child of Bacchus and companion of high living—Gout;
Nor what innumerable diseases through this union are ready to attack our world.
Yet, indeed, the soothing power of this invigorating drink
Drives sad cares from the heart, and exhilarates the spirits.
I have seen a man, when he had not yet drained a mighty
Draught of this sweet nectar, walk silently with slow gait,
His brow sad, and forehead rough with forbidding wrinkles.
This same man who had hardly bathed his throat with the sweet
Drink—no delay—clouds fled from his wrinkled brow; and
He took pleasure in teasing all with his witty sayings.
Nor yet did he pursue any one with bitter laughter. For this
Harmless drink inspires no desire of offending, the venom
Is lacking, and pleasant laughter without bitterness pleases.
And in the entire East this custom of coffee drinking
Has been accepted. And, now, France; you adopt the foreign custom,
So that public shops, one after the other, are opened for
Drinking Coffee. A hanging sign of either ivy or laurel invites the passers-by.
Hither in crowds from the entire city they assemble, and
While away the time in pleasant drinking.
And when once the feelings have grown warm, acted upon by
The gentle heat, then good-humored laughter, and pleasant
Arguments increase. General gaiety ensues,
the places about resound with joyous applause.
But never does the liquid imbibed overpower weary minds, but
Rather, if ever slumber presses their heavy eyes and dulls
The brain; and their strength, blunted, grows torpid in the
Body, coffee puts sleep to flight from the eyes, and slothful inactivity from the whole frame.
Therefore to absorb the sweet draught would be an advantage
For those whom a great deal of long-continued labor awaits
And those who need to extend their study far into the night.
And here I shall make known who taught the use of this pleasant
Drink; for its virtue, unknown, has lain hidden through many
Years; and reviewing, I shall relate the matter from the very beginning.
An Arab shepherd was driving his young goats to the well-known
Pastures. They were wandering through lonely wastes and cropping
The grasses, when a tree heavy with many berries—never seen before—met their eyes.
At once, as they were able to reach the low branches, they began
To pull off the leaves with many a nibble, and to pluck the tender
Growth. Its bitterness attracts. The shepherd, not knowing this,
Was meanwhile singing on the soft grass and telling the story of his loves to the woods.
But when the evening star, rising, warned him to leave the field,
And he led back his well-fed flock to their stalls, he perceived
That the beasts did not close their eyes in sweet sleep, but
Joyous beyond their wont, with wonderful delight throughout the
Whole night jumped about with wanton leaps. Trembling with sudden
Fear, the shepherd stood amazed; and crazed by the sound, he
Thought these things were being done through some wicked trick of a neighbor, or by magic art.
Not far from here a holy band of brethren had built their
Humble home in a remote valley; their lot it was to chant
Praises of God, and to load his altars with fitting gifts.
Although throughout the night the deep-toned bell resounded
With great din, and summoned them to the sacred temple, often
The coming of dawn found them lingering on their couches,
Having forgotten to rise in the middle of the night.
So great was their love of sleep!
In charge of the sacred temple, revered and obeyed by his
Willing brethren, was the master, an aged man, a heavy mass of white hair on head and chin.
The shepherd, hastening, came to him and told him the story,
Imploring his aid. The old man smiled to himself; but
He agreed to go, and investigate the hidden cause of the miracle.
When he has come to the hills, he observes the lambs, together
With their mothers, gnawing the berries of an unknown plant,
And cries, "This is the cause of the trouble!" And saying no
More, he at once picks the smooth fruit from the heavily-laden
Tree, and carries it home, places it, when washed, in pure
Water, cooking it over the fire, and fearlessly drinks a large
Cup of it. Forthwith a warmth pervades his veins, a living
Force is diffused through his limbs, and weariness is dispelled from his aged body.
Then, at length, the old man exulting in the blessing thus found,
Rejoices, and kindly shares with all his brothers. They eagerly
At early night-fall, indulge in pleasant banquets and drain great bowls.
No longer is it hard for them to break off sweet sleep and to leave their soft beds as formerly.
O fortunate ones! whose hearts the sweet draught has often
Bathed. No sluggish torpor holds their minds, they briskly
Rise for their prescribed duties and rejoice to outstrip the rays of the first light.
You also, whose care it is to feed minds with divine eloquence
And to terrify with your words the souls of the guilty, you also
Should indulge in the pleasant drink; for, as you know, it
Strengthens weakness. Keen vigor is gained for the limbs from
This source, and spreads through the whole body. From this source,
Too, shall come new strength and new power to your voice.
You also, whom oft harmful vapors harass, whose sick brain the dangerous vertigo shakes,
Ah, come! In this sweet liquid is a ready medicine
And none other better to calm undue agitation.
Apollo planted this power for himself, they say,
The story is worthy to be sung.
Once a disease most deadly to life assailed the disciples of
Apollo's Mount. It spread far and wide, and attacked the brain itself.
Already all the people of genius were suffering with this
Disease; and the arts, deserted, were languishing along with
The workers. Some even pretended to have the disease, and
Assuming feigned suffering, gave themselves over to an idle life.
Unpleasing work grew distasteful, and deadly inertia increased
Everywhere. It pleased all, now released from work and labors,
To indulge in care-free quiet.
Apollo, full of indignation, did not endure longer that the deadly
Contagion of such easy ruin should creep over them thus. And,
That he might take away from seers all means of deception, he
Enticed from the rich bosom of the earth this friendly plant,
Than which no other is more ready either to refresh for work the
Mind wearied by long studies, or to sooth troublesome sorrows of the head.
O plant, given to the human race by the gift of the Gods!
No other out of the entire list of plants has ever vied with you.
On your account sailors sail from our shores
And fearlessly conquer the threatening winds, sandbanks and
Dreadful rocks. With your nourishing growth you surpass dittany,
Ambrosia, and fragrant panacea. Grim diseases flee from you. To
You trusting health clings as a companion, and also the merry
Crowd, conversation, amusing jokes, and sweet whisperings.

The poet Belighi toward the close of the sixteenth century composed a poem, which, freely translated, runs:

In Damascus, in Aleppo, in great Cairo,
At every turn is to be found
That mild fruit which gives so beloved a drink,
Before coming to court to triumph.
There this seditious disturber of the world,
Has, by its unparalleled virtue,
Supplanted all wines from this blessed day.