How Did Coffee Play A Pivotal Role In The Scientific Revolution In Europe

The Drink of reason, coffee, seems to not have changed much culturally to this day, as when it is brought to the table over 250 years ago (pg. 170). Coffee remains to be the drink over which people meet

Coffee had lots of demand, but little supply. The country that could grow and export the most coffee had a substantial economic advantage over other countries in terms of commerce.

The Europeans got coffee from the Arabs in the 17th century when European explorers visited Islamic lands and brought the drink back with them. At first, there was a controversy whether it should be prohibited or not due

1) Who did the Europeans get coffee from and how did it spread to Europe?

Also there were large restaurants trying to find ways to capitalize on the specialty coffee industry i.e.: Macdonalds, Krisspy, Dunkin, Donuts …..

Coffee was the first true “global” beverage because it was allowed to be consumed by people of

Coffee quickly became the drink of intellect and industry being known to sharpen the mind. Taverns were replaced with a more sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse. These “led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought.” [4]

Coffee was first created in Yemen. From Yemen, coffee moved into the Arabic culture. Europeans then smuggled coffee beans into Europe.

The caffeine in coffee become an ethical increase over alcohol and have become a fashionable social beverage. It was interesting to see how it started off as this very exotic drink only for the upper class and then turned into what it is now. Coffee is a very fashionable drink that does not cost much that many have led their days with in today’s society.

Coffee originated from Ethiopia and quickly spread to Arabia Felix; which is known today as Yemen.

The Scientific Revolution was a time of scientific questioning in which tremendous discoveries were made about the Earth. It has been referred to as “the real origin both of the modern world and the modern mentality” (Mckay, 596) and caused the foremost change in the world-view. This revolution occurred for many reasons. Universities were established in Western Europe in order to train lawyer’s doctors and church leaders and philosophy became a major study alongside medicine, law, and theology. The Renaissance stimulated scientific progress because mathematics was improved, texts were

1. Coffee originated in Europe by the expansion of “Age of Exploration” opening new ideas with criticism, tolerance, and freedom of thought.

Coffee is a beverage that is globally consumed, but also a product that has different values in different parts of the world. The role coffee plays in society differs around the world, from the farmers who grew the crops to the people who constantly consume them. Social theoretical perspectives are capable of showing the different roles coffee has in different societies. Symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and Marxism are three theories which show coffee’s role sociologically. These theories show how coffee affects people physically, how it affects them emotionally, how it leads them to have interactions, how it connects different parts of society, and how it’s economically controlled by a select few.

Coffee played a pivotal role in the French revolution because coffeehouses was where you have the right to read all the papers for and against the government, so people would come to coffeehouses and coffeehouses became centers of revolutionary ferment. The French Revolution was set in motion when Camille

Tom Standage’s “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” discusses six drinks that have greatly influenced human history. Many people believe that things similar to a drink are irrelevant in history, however, Standage views the drinks he describes as having “a closer connection to the flow of history than is generally acknowledged, and a greater influence on its course. Understanding the ramifications of who drank what, and why, and where they got it from, requires the traversal of many disparate and otherwise unrelated fields…” The drinks that Standage focuses on include beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, and cola. He describes each of the beverages and how each of them managed to alter history in very unique ways. The first three beverages are all alcoholic while the last three are all caffeinated. Coffee heavily impacted the world by influencing modern culture, being used to sharpen the mind and its alertness, and also by advancing the social aspects of society.