by Joyce D. Sinclair
It doesn't matter if it's from South America, Africa or Southeast Asia. It doesn't matter if it's steaming hot or iced. It doesn't matter if it's a Turkish grind, French roast, percolated, brewed, or pressed. It doesn't matter if it's a caf americano, caffe latte, espresso, cappuccino, or a caffe macchiato. It doesn't matter if it's decaf, regular or half-and-half. It doesn't matter if it's Starbucks, McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts or in your own kitchen. What only matters is that it's the drink of the millennium: coffee.
Here's to the drink that has brought together millions of people together on a first date. It's the drink that has sat in on millions of board meetings around the world. It's the drink that has helped millions of high school and college students cram for big tests and final exams. It's the drink that is thought to have quicken sobriety (which is a myth: it just makes a wide-awake drunk.) It's the drink that signified the official transition from childhood to adulthood.
With its origins in Ethiopia, it quickly spread to Egypt and onto Yemen and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. From there, it quickly spread to Europe via Turkey. Each country that the coffee bean passed through took it and made it their own. As each European country spread out and conquered other lands, they also brought along coffee (as well as other culinary delights) and "shared" them with everyone. With the coming of the Industrial Age, Europe needed something other than alcohol to drink. (The water was so bad at that time that it was safer to drink alcohol than drink water.)
