S4 Ep. 237 The Powerful History of Coffee: From Ethiopian Tribes to Global Revolution

Speaker 1: Okay, wake up, wake up. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good everything. How are you? Wherever you are at this very moment, on the surface of the earth, around the earth, across the globe, listening to me and seeing me across the globe, listening to me and seeing me. Welcome to the word cafe live show. How are you? I will always ask that. I won't get tired of asking. It is not rhetorical now, it is so much. It means a lot to me. You know, I say it all the time because it's the truth. We're here, one of the main reasons why we're here, it's because you are there and, yes, all right, how have you been? I've been great, I've been fine , I've been amazing. I must tell you the truth. It's the safe space where we come in to lean on one another's experience, to forge a positive path. What are we going to be doing today? You're seeing me with my coffee . Give me a moment, just give me a moment. So today I'm going to be talking about coffee. Yes, somebody called me once a coffee addict and I said no, I'm not. I'm not a coffee addict, I'm a, a coffee enthusiast. It's about connection, not addiction. You know that scripture that says it's not good for a man to be alone, in this case, now, that's mankind. So, man, mankind, man and woman , there's this level of connection we all desire and when we don't see it, what is available becomes desirous and we call it addiction. Yes, you want to go about it scientifically. You never Addiction. It's more of connection, and that's what I want to talk about today. Coffee, why coffee? Why do you? And coffee, that even your show somehow has the element of coffee in it. Well, I must tell you the truth . Just give me a minute. Yeah, good coffee. It all stemmed from my connection, not addiction, with coffee. So I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you something about it and I hope you're going to learn one or two things from it. Yes, I have to pick up my phone because I'm going to do some reading today. As usual, we are going to. How am I going to put it now? We talk, we come back, we talk, we come back. Yes, so I've been around the city of Abuja. You know I live in Abuja. Abuja is one of the finest cities in the world. Yes, you heard me, mm-hmm. If you've not been to Abuja, well, try and visit, you'll be blown. You'll be blown away when you come to the city. So what I do, my first encounter with coffee. I'm going going to tell you. But there's a story I'm looking for something I wrote recently and, uh, I I shared it and somebody saw it. I was like now I know why I love coffee. I'm looking for it. Just give me a minute. Yeah, give me a minute. Okay, coffee enthusiast unleashed, that's how I call it. So I go around the city of abuja to look for coffee, sports and all that because of my connection, like, like I said, it's not addiction, my connection with coffee. By the way, I'm an enthusiast. I had to say that just to reinforce it. So I go around the city I'm not advertising for anybody, just to tell you how I connect with my city. Uh, if you've seen my city and his dna, there was a coffee shot . I did, if you, if you've seen that, uh, would I call it documentary now, or yeah, and we did that, think two or three years ago now. Go check it on our YouTube channel. And I was in a coffee shop, one of the finest coffee shops in Abuja, and I discovered one recently. But I'm going to read this and we'll pick it up from there my beloved and a good friend once teased me that I might just be a coffee addict. But in my defense I replied no, I'm simply a coffee enthusiast, one who has stumbled upon the secret hidden deep within the alchemy of coffee. As if that confession wasn't enough, I stumbled across an image the former vice president of my beloved Nigeria, professor Yemi Usibanjo, serving a cup of coffee at one of my favorite spots right here in the city of Abuja. Yes, I saw that picture. I couldn't help but exclaim even royalty shares in my delight. This place, this coffee haven, is not just a cafe, it's my sanctuary. It's not just a cafe, it's my sanctuary. And now it seems it has become a gathering ground for kindred spirits. So you see, it's not about addiction, it's about truth. When you find that one thing that unlocks a burst of light within, fuels your creativity, steadies your mind and centers your soul, you pitch your tent there, you dwell, because in that moment you have passed mere existence to true life and living. I call it the elixir of the gods, not just for its taste, but for what it awakens within. So I wrote that and I shared it . And somebody saw it and said no wonder, now I know why I love coffee. It's royalty, yes, it is. There are lots of coffee spots in Abuja. Like I said, I'm not advertising for anybody, but I'm going to share with you the ones I've been to. This particular one that the vice president the former vice president, I beg your pardon was at with his wife, I think it was on his birthday, meshai, I think that's the name, meshai, somewhere in Asokoro they have two sports Beautiful place. So I always go there with my wife. And you know, just take coffee discourse, get inspired. So I'm going to read another how coffee influenced the history, the course of history. A lot of you don't know the power of coffee, but when I discovered it and I connected with it, I now know it's not about, it's beyond the chemistry of coffee. You know my first degree in school is biochemistry, so I knew a lot about chemicals, not pharmaceuticals, biochemistry, aromatics and all of that. So when you talk about chemicals, consuming chemicals, I know you can't take me unaware . It's coffee, the constitution of coffee and all of that you know is a beverage. It, uh, it brings, it keeps you awake, no doubt about it, as in physically or mentally awake. It also brings that beauty. It has this amazing smell, the memory of the smell connects you to what the smell is all about. Did you get that? So that's what coffee is I'm going to give you. I was just going through some stuff I said let me, let me give a background of it so that you know what coffee is and the power of coffee it has wielded over humanity. Coffee is a powerful beverage. You heard that when I said that . On a personal level, it helps us keep awake and active. On a much broader level, it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture. You see, coffee plants grow wild in Ethiopia. So coffee began from Africa. For those of you who didn't know, now you know Coffee began from Africa, but let us follow the story. Wild in Ethiopia. And were probably used by nomadic tribes for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the 1400s. And were probably used by nomadic tribes for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the 1400s that people figured out they could roast its seeds. So there was this particular story. You know I was reading about this. The Ethiopians are Africans and there's something about Africans that you can't take it away from us. We are communal in our living, we are generalistic, not individualistic. We like this communal living. So we tell our stories under the moonlight, I beg your pardon . Like I think it was Chinua Achebe's book. He said you inviting your neighbor or you going to your neighbor's house to eat is not because you don't have food, it's just that sharing spirit, it helps build bonds and all that. So the early Ethiopians, early Africans, the way they prepared the coffee beans, they sit down around the fireplace, they are talking, you, you know more of the agrarian culture. They are discussing the day's activity and roasting the coffee beans and preparing it. And you know everybody giving his own side to the story, with a little bit of um, there was that exaggeration, storytelling, you know, like folklore, more or less telling stories, and the coffee is being prepared, then they brew it, the smell is in the atmosphere and it's like it creates that bond amongst them. And you know all of that. So follow me, so they could roast the seeds. Then it really took off. Historians, mark Pendergrast he's the author of Uncommon Grounds, I mean, he did so much work on this the History of Coffee and how it Transformed Our World, he tells Morning Edition host Steve, that's whoever interviewed him. So by the 1500s, he says, the drink had spread to coffee houses across the Arab world Within another 150 years. It took Europe by storm. So when you look at the Trans-Saharan slave trade, for those of us who know history very well, yes, the arabs were also involved in slave trade. So when they came to africa, if you watch, uh, gladiators one and two, you would appreciate what I'm talking about how they moved people. So in. So, in moving people, they also moved their culture, and coffee was one of them. Yes, they harnessed it. So it took Europe by storm. It actually had a major impact on the rise of business. Pendergrass says this. Pendergrass says coffee houses became a sport, not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas. So the Renaissance if you're about the Renaissance, the romantics, the age of knowledge, as we call it, what really helped Coffee? So this is it. When it came to Europe, the egalitarian thing came into it, like it wasn't just coffee, coffee. Now they started building coffee houses, coffee shops. If you've been to Europe before , if you've seen it on TV, you would see them. I mean, I lived in Europe for a while. So Italy, to be precise, you go to a place like Duomo, centrale Rome, close to St Peter's Square, and all of that, the Spanish Steps, all around the areas, you see coffee shops everywhere. So you see people drinking coffee, uh, and all of that. But the renaissance, they start to discuss ideas over coffee. So it was not just uh, the, the african thing now grew, came to Europe, so it became a thing. Where you going I'm going to XYZ to meet a friend Obviously coffee. And again, you know that Europe , to be precise, britain they are not coffee drinkers, they are tea drinkers. In course of the reading, you're going to see why I said that you know they don't drinkers. In course of the reading, you're going to see why I said that you know they don't drink coffee, they go with tea. But the part of Europe that harnessed, in my opinion, the power of coffee and made it beautiful, sexy, appealing, and all that was Italy. You know they developed the espresso, what we call espresso. You know this. Okay, you saw it when I was coming in uh, brewing coffee, the coffee machine, uh, the europeans, or british, take tea in cups, in mugs, the. The Italians drink coffee in shots, like the Asians. When you see the Asians taking small shots, and all of that, even in Africa. You see some traditional practitioners when they are dealing on the what do you call it? The alcohol, the raw methanol. They use small cups, so the Italians made it From there. They brought in some spice into it. Spice, I mean, like you see, things like espresso, cappuccino , moccaccino. You know, espresso is without black coffee, black, okay. And cappuccino is coffee mixed with cream, milk, latte, as you want to call it. Then mochaccino is like coffee mixed with chocolate and milk. It's sweet For those of us who have sweet tooth. You go for it. So that is what the Italians did. They brought in that aspect. So where were we on this story? So it actually had a major impact on the rise of business. Pentagraph says coffee houses became a sport, that not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas. The insurer Lloyds of London was founded, I beg your pardon. The insurer Lloyds of London was a founded, was founded, I beg your pardon, hundreds of years ago in one of the London's 2000 coffee houses. Lloyds, so you see, so he notes . Literature, newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach, beethoven were also spawned in coffee houses. Did you hear that? So all those amazing compositions that we hear, bach, beethoven, but they did not mention Mozart here. And you imagine. So what were they doing? Maybe when they perceived the coffee smell and their sense of creativity became intense and they couldn't help it and to express those melodic notes that became, you know, timeless, forging and all of that. Don't mind me, I'm in my element now. It is often said that after the boston tea party so you see now of 1773, when american colonies raided british tea shops and threw crates of tea into the harbor americans universally switched over to drinking coffee . So it was like what's the word to use now, rebelling against the colonial idea. We don't want tea. So the British colonized America for your information, and so the Americans kicked against it and to show that we don't want you to embrace coffee . So if you go to the US, for example, now you see things like what the Italians will call coffee Americana they have these mugs for coffee. Then you see things like Starbucks, where you have the paper cups and all of that. So you see where coffee came from or the power of coffee. There's a lot of truths to the history I found Pendergrass said that's the writer. He cites a letter, john Adams. You know John Adams was part of the people who wrote the American Constitution wrote to his wife, abigail, in which the founding father proclaims in his love of tea, but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead, because drinking tea had become unpatriotic. So you see, now coffee is a sign of patriotism, he said believe you hear what John Adams wrote to his wife? For all the offsides coffee has brought the modern world, it also ushered in its fair share of downsides too. Yes, europeans carried coffee with them as they colonized various parts of the world, and this frequently meant they enslaved people in order to grow it. So the commercial nature of coffee yes, coffee has this potential. That's what we're seeing there. One of the ironies about coffee is it makes people think. Did you hear that? It sort of creates egalitarian places, like if you go to the maisha meshaya, beg your pardon I I talked about earlier here in abuja, the space, the ambience is you just feel like you know this, this what we call in Nigeria big boyness. So coffee houses where people can come together. And so the French revolution and the American revolution were planned in coffee houses. Did you hear that? So let me tell you another thing Most businesses, most contracts, most deals in the world are struck in coffee houses when people sit to do coffee. And I talked about Duomo in Italy, milano. There's this part of it called I think it's, larry Noshente. The building Larry Noshente is a building, as in. You have, uh, what you call them now perfumeries, perfume shops and all that. But you see coffee shops, mcdonald's and all that, and you see people sitting down either. They're discussing, maybe, love , you know, yeah, love, Love is a form of contract. They're talking about a future. You also see people talking about real business. So revolutions were planned in coffee houses. On the other hand, that same coffee that was fueling the French Revolution was also being produced by African slaves. You see that who had been taken in San Domingo, which we now know as Haiti? Did you hear that In Brazil, where slavery was legal until 1888, why am I mixing up the figures? 1888, coffee plantations would use, slash and burn agriculture, tearing down rainforest and planting coffee trees that depleted the nutrients in soil. Once the soil had been sapped, growers would move on to another place. And then there are histories, many coffee naysayers. In 1511, for example, the governor of Mecca banned coffee because his medical advisors warned it was bad for people's health. In 1674, women in London were convinced that coffee made their husbands impotent. Not true? And yet, in an age where beer soup was the breakfast of champions, coffee had one undeniable health benefit Western civilization so bad. You see, in place of beer, alcohol, coffee brings sobriety, pendergrass says. Coffee, he says, had a very good impact in many ways on our civilization, even though it was for a long time grown by slaves . So I decided to do this today for us to understand, because on a surface level, you see, people say one or two things about coffee, out of ignorance, in my opinion. But when you come to embrace it , you come to see that it is not an addiction, it's a connection . Yes, it brings about the connection of people, or the connecting of people. It brings about idea precipitation, formation and it also brings about sobriety. Yep, mm-hmm, that is what it is and it depends. It depends on you, your perspective, how you have perceived it. But I'm only telling you my experience with coffee. It's been wonderful. Yeah, it's been amazing. It's been. It helps my creative process, it helps me relax. Like I said in my write-up, it is a elixir of the gods. A cup of coffee, ah, it releases this bust and I just feel to go on, and all of that. So why should I embrace coffee? You just heard me Mm-hmm, moderation, anyway, don't get me wrong, moderation. So I was watching this I would call it a documentary or so on Curiosity Channel. That's one of my favorite channels on television when I sit and I watch, listen, and they were talking about this thing. I just talked about how coffee sparked off what we are seeing today in terms of creativity, science and all of that. People, you know, when they go to those houses, when they are discussing, when they are talking, when they are engaging, and I was like, okay, so you can start your own blend of coffee? Yeah, maybe if you consult me, I'll show you. So let me tell you one beautiful thing about coffee again, in the way the Italians prepare coffee. Yep, let me go through the process with you. It will give you this sense If you walk into any coffee shop, or you don't call it tabaki, that's how those places, the Americans, will call it. I think it's a bodega or something. First of all, the coffee machine must always be hot, that is, it must be. On the way it is prepared. Water comes in. You know the way, the water heater principle. Yeah, so the machine has water or an inlet for water or a chamber where you put water, but it must always be on. Then the coffee cups. They always put the coffee cups on top of the machine to keep it warm. Preferably the ceramic, not the glass or double glazed glass. And you ask why, preparing the coffee, sometimes people prefer the coffee beans, you know, like , not blended. They want to see the process from start to finish. So they pour the beans, the coffee bean seeds, into this machine. That blends it into the powder form, that blends it into the powder form, then scoop it, put it in the what do you call that? Now, in the coffee machine, where you put the coffee is like a spoon, something like a spatula, where you put the coffee and all of that, while some go for the already made like, if it's been blended. You go to the supermarket. You have a lot of blends, but I prefer Lavasa. Like I said, I'm not advertising for anybody, I'm only telling you I prefer Lavasa and the smell is amazing. So you put it there, snap it, let it lock properly. It's under pressure, so to say. Then you bring the hot cup. It must be warm. Why? Because the coffee travels the distance between the machine and the cup. There's this pocket of air that will cause it to like lose some energy and it becomes cold in. In that travel, that transportation, so to say. But when it gets back into a warm cup, you know that when something is warm the smell comes out better, just like when you're warming a pot of soup the whole house is filled with the smell. So those miniature atoms are released into the atmosphere and they travel with that smell, you see. So when it comes in, if you want a little bit of sugar, you tinge it with sugar, if you don't take it with black. But if you're a latte person, you introduce a little milk into it and voila, it's ready. So imagine all of this. You sit together. Coffee is best enjoyed in a community. It helps, it builds. I felt like doing this, I felt like like sharing. These are part of my processes. Anyway, you know it's me, this is me. I'm a crease away and uh, how I connect with coffee and how God has used coffee to help me in my creative process. Somebody will say it's like you're addicted. No, I'm not. I am an enthusiast. Okay, guys, I hope these has inspired you, as it inspires me every day. So this is what we do on the show. You know what? This is a space where we come in to lean on one and others experience to forge a positive path. All right, I have to go now, but you know that we are available on all the social media platforms Facebook, twitter X. That's X, not Twitter X. Yes, we have a YouTube channel. Have you subscribed? Go ahead, go ahead, subscribe, hit that notification button so that whenever new episodes like this one drops, you'll be the first to hear it and also help us grow our channel. You know, push it out there. We have amazing content here. Yes, share it with your friends , with your enemies, yes, with your enemies. You never can tell you're helping somebody. All right then, guys, you know how we say it on the show. It's always exciting coming in here sharing this uh moment with you. Well, but I have to end it here , but don't worry, I'll be back yet again with another amazing episode till I come your way again. My name is amakri amakri sabwe. Bye for now.