Like most sane people, I can’t start my day without my morning cup(s) of coffee.

But the quintessential morning pick-me-up wasn’t always as popular or as commonplace as it is today.

Coffee first appears in modern lore, as far as historians can tell, in the 9th century, when Arab shepherds noticed that their sheep became extra alert when eating coffee beans.

Shepherding isn’t the most stimulating of jobs, so I’m sure they would have tried just about anything to stay awake.

According to Aleteia, Islamic clerics learned how to cultivate the plant, and quickly coffee spread throughout the Muslim world.

At that point, the Muslim world included the Arabian Peninsula, most of Northern Africa and the Levant, Sicily, most of Spain and Portugal, and some other regions in the Southern Mediterranean.

Around the late 16th century, coffee made its way to Europe. 16th century Europe, for those of you who don’t know, wasn’t the most progressive of places.

These were the same people who believed that sneezing gave Satan the opportunity to enter the body, and the person who sneezed needed the help of God to exorcise the devil.

That, friends, is why some people believe we say “bless you” when someone sneezes, although other theories suggest it was to do with the deadly Bubonic plague that ravaged parts of the world and killed an estimated 50 million people in the 14th century.

At 2OV we also believe that sneezing is a sign of weakness, but we’ll leave that for another day.

Back to coffee being labelled ‘Satan’s drink’:

…coffee was not received with open arms in Europe, due to its “infidel” origins. After being at war with Muslims for centuries, it’s no wonder Europeans nicknamed coffee “Satan’s drink.”

But since “all roads lead to Rome”, coffee eventually got to the Vatican. More specifically, it arrived at Pope Clement VIII’s office.

Yup, your morning brew is Satan’s drink. Sip on that.

Thankfully, the Pope was considerably more open-minded than his advisors and decided to try Satan’s drink anyway. He had the following reaction:

The legend goes he said: “This devil’s drink is delicious. We should cheat the devil by baptizing it.”

And he did. Once the coffee was blessed, people quickly caught on that it was the best thing ever, and the rest is history.

Look at his smug face:

I personally favour a steaming cup of Importers Coffee in the morning. Their pods make for a great double shot of espresso in the morning at home, followed by a cappucino, which I grab on my way to the office, from Cafe Du Cap.

Seth personally blesses each bean himself in an elaborate ritual. Swing past and you may see him in action, but please don’t make eye contact.

Don’t sneeze, either. He will judge you.

If you’re out and about in the ‘burbs, get your coffee fix at the famous Importers Coffee in Newlands – 28 Kildare Street.

It gives a whole new meaning to #blessed when you post a picture of your morning cuppa on Instagram.

[source:aleteia]