Why did drinking coffee in the U.S. overtake tea? Remember that little episode called the Boston Tea Party.
In 1773 America rebelled against King George’s severe tea tax. The revolt caused drinking coffee to become a patriotic duty.
The word comes from the Port of Mocha in Yemen, formerly known as Arabia. This is where the first coffee plants in cultivation originated. From Java they were smuggled to the Dutch islands.
Java is an island in Indonesia. The Dutch introduced coffee to Java in 1696. It was a Dutch colony at that time and one of their first commercial plantations.
The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea annot be expected to reproduce.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Over the Teacups, 1891
No it can’t and this is just a myth. Coffee will not sober you up. The only thing it can do is make you a more alert drunk.
Coffee can help reverse the effects caused by tranquilizers or valium.
Before we began to enjoy coffee as a brewed concoction people would eat the coffee beans. African tribes would ground the beans then roll them into balls with animal fat. This snack would nourish and energize ancient Africans.
Coffee, which make the politician wise
An see thro’ all things with half-shut eyes
By Alexander Pope, 1714
The famous hot coffee lawsuit against McDonalds awarded an 81 year old women $3 million dollars. The Public outrage for self-responsibility was immediate. How can someone spill coffee on themself then sue for damages from the company that served the coffee? When you look at the details and circumstances one may feel as sympathetic as the jury who awarded her the damages.
The lady sustained third-degree burns on her groin, butt and inner thighs. She had to undergo skin grafts and was hospitalized for one week. This was not the first time someone complained to McDonalds about their excessively hot coffee and the court revealed that they received at least 700 reports of coffee burns and settle suits for up to $500,000. It was not a surprise to McDonald’s that their coffee was too hot so this proved their negligence.
So you can image the little old lady who when to McDonalds trusting the brand with her safety. No wonder why the jury gave her such a large award.
The origin of the phrase “cup of joe” goes back to the early 1900s and Admiral Josephus Daniels who was a secretary of the navy during the Wilson administration. The U.S. was involved with World War I at the time. He outlawed alcohol on ships which lead to coffee becaming the favorite beverage of naval crews. Hence the name “cup of joe.”
