“Devil’s Drink.” How Coffee Sparked a Revolution

Written by Rory Thornfield

Coffee arrived in Europe in the 17th century as an exotic beverage from the Middle East, arousing both fascination and fear. Catholic clergy saw it as a threat to morality, calling it the „devil’s drink.” The history of coffee’s acceptance in Christianity lasted over two centuries.

From Ethiopian Shepherds to Sultans’ Palaces

According to tradition, humanity’s first encounter with coffee took place in medieval Ethiopia. A shepherd observing his flock noticed unusual liveliness in the animals after they consumed red fruits growing on local shrubs. This accidental discovery initiated coffee’s long journey across continents. In Islamic culture, the beverage quickly found practical application – Sufi mystics used its stimulating properties during nighttime prayers, needing to maintain alertness for many hours.

Coffee’s expansion in the Muslim world was not straightforward, however. In the early 16th century, authorities in Mecca perceived coffeehouses as a political threat. These establishments gathered people discussing public affairs, which troubled Governor Khair Beg. In 1511, he issued a ban on coffee consumption, declaring it a substance prohibited by religious law. This decision stemmed more from concerns about social control than from theological considerations.

The prohibition proved short-lived, however. After thirteen years, in 1524, Sultan Suleiman revoked the restrictions, and a religious authority issued official permission for coffee drinking. This example shows how a new product had to undergo a process of negotiation between tradition, law, and changing social practices. Similar tensions emerged several years later in Cairo, where acts of vandalism occurred against coffeehouses.

The Battle for Acceptance in the Catholic Church

When coffee reached Italy in the 17th century, it encountered strong resistance from Catholic clergy. In an era when Europe was deeply divided religiously following the Reformation, every element of Muslim culture aroused suspicion. The intense aroma and black color of the beverage, its exotic origins, and stimulating effect – all contributed to an image of something dangerous to Christian morality. Some preachers compared coffee to communion wine, seeing this as blasphemy.

The controversies surrounding coffee reflected the Church’s broader concerns about external influences. During the Counter-Reformation period, any element of non-Western culture could be treated as a threat. Clergy argued that such a powerfully acting beverage could not be God’s gift but rather a product of dark forces. This logic led to attempts to ban coffee drinking among Catholics.

Pope Clement VIII resolved the situation in 1601. After personally tasting it, he declared the beverage too delicious to leave exclusively to Muslims. This papal decision effectively „baptized” coffee, making it acceptable for the faithful. Clement VIII’s pragmatism demonstrates how a religious institution could adapt to changing realities when a threat proved imaginary.

Coffeehouses as a Threat to Order

In 17th-century England, coffeehouses became centers of intellectual and social life. By the mid-1670s, over three thousand operated throughout the country. These establishments functioned as informal clubs where people discussed politics, science, and business. The atmosphere of free exchange of ideas attracted educated townspeople but troubled authorities.

Opposition to coffee took unexpected forms. In 1674, a petition was published in which women accused the beverage of harmful effects on male fertility and potency. This document reflected deeper social tensions – coffeehouses were exclusively male spaces from which women were excluded. The petition constituted a form of protest against these new institutions separating the sexes in public life.

Coffee’s defenders responded with medical arguments, pointing to its stimulating properties. This debate shows how a new product became a point of intersection for various conflicts – between sexes, social classes, and generations. Coffeehouses genuinely changed the structure of social life, creating new spaces for public discussion beyond the control of traditional institutions.

The Long Road to Normalcy

Even at the end of the 19th century, coffee was not fully accepted by all church circles. In 1896, a sermon was delivered at the cathedral in Bytom condemning coffee as a satanic beverage. This example shows how long it took for coffee to become fully domesticated in European culture. Local religious communities maintained traditional distrust toward what had arrived from a foreign culture.

Coffee’s history in Europe illustrates a mechanism in which a new element must pass through phases of foreignness, controversy, and ultimately assimilation. This process lasted nearly three centuries – from coffee’s appearance in Europe to its widespread acceptance. Resistance to it stemmed from broader religious, political, and social conflicts of the early modern era.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rory Thornfield

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Rory's grandfather left behind a wartime diary filled with accounts of a minor Burma skirmish that history books never mentioned. Reading it, Rory realized: behind every famous battle are dozens of forgotten struggles, each with its own human drama.

His preferred topics: The overlooked corners of military history – secondary campaigns, shadow battalions, local conflicts that never made headlines. From medieval sieges to twentieth-century expeditions, he focuses on the soldiers, not the generals. The people who faced impossible choices and carried those experiences forever.

Rory strips away the romanticism without losing respect for those who served. He combines tactical analysis with personal stories, examining human endurance and moral complexity rather than celebrating warfare. His writing is balanced, thoughtful, and deeply researched.

Outside work, Rory visits forgotten battlefields (now quiet farmland), photographs war memorials nobody tends anymore, and interviews veterans' families.