PODcast #44 : Espresso Pods News

Welcome to The PODcast, PodMerchant's newsletter of espresso pod tips, news, education, and deals. Back issues of The PODcast are available online.

Espresso Elucidation

Famous Coffee Lovers

A few historical tidbits for your amusement this month... Coffee has a long and storied history, and has played a role in the lives of many famous people. Always striving for accuracy and truth, let me qualify the following anecdotes. I could find no authoritative sources for any of the below and they should be treated as lore.

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While coffee was first brewed by the Arabs, it may not have reached Christians as soon as it did if not for Pope Clement VIII. When coffee first reached Rome, Christian priests believed that Satan had invented coffee as a substitute for wine, which Muslims were not allowed to drink. Since wine was used in Christian practices such as Holy Communion, priests thought that coffee must then be from the Anti-Christ, and, according to legend, asked the Pope to declare coffee the "bitter invention of Satan." But he refused to do so before first trying it himself, and ordered that some coffee be prepared for him. He evidently enjoyed it greatly. He is purported to have remarked, "This devil's drink is so good... we should cheat the devil by baptizing it."

That action removed the biggest potential obstacle for the popularization of coffee in Europe. Less than 50 years later, coffee houses began popping up in Italy, and by 1675, there were some 3,000 coffee houses in England.

(Authenticated historical note: The oldest continuously operating coffee house in Italy is said to be Caffè Florian in Venice, followed closely by Antico Caffè Greco in Rome. Caffe Greco opened in 1760 and Caffè Florian in 1720. Yes, 1720!)

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Once coffee was introduced to the Prussian court it quickly became very popular. But the government's economic policy was against importation, desiring instead to keep money within the realm.

In 1785 King Frederick II established a special intelligence unit, known as the Kaffee Schnufflers (coffee sniffers), to track down and suppress illicit coffee houses and roasters. Although it was enjoyed by the elite, the King was concerned that coffee drinking undermined the effectiveness of his troops — in contrast with beer (a home-grown product and a good source of tax revenue.) Lore has it that this endeavor failed because Frederick himself loved coffee.

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The famous German composer, Ludvig van Beethoven was so particular about his coffee that he always ground up exactly 60 beans for each cup of coffee. That's several times the usual amount.

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France's King Louis XV is said to have spent a small fortune every year to provide for his daughters' coffee habits. Louis XV was a key figure in the history of coffee — Folklore says that in 1723 he sent three coffee plants to his colony, Martinique. Two of the plants died en route and the third plant ended up in Jamaica, brought there in 1728 by the former Governor, Sir Nicholas Lawes. Lawes first planted coffee at St. Andrew Parish, Jamaica. Jamaica's climate was so conducive to coffee production that the coffee industry expanded rapidly from St. Andrew to the Blue Mountains (famous, of course for Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee).

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19th-century French writer Honoré de Balzac supposedly drank up to 40 cups of coffee per day, nearly as much as Voltaire, who’s credited with 50 cups a day.
 

PodMerchant News

Out of stock products: We continue to be out of Lucaffe Mamma Lucia and Giamaica Blue Mountain pods. But the good news is that they are now "on the water," in the parlance of the shipping trade, with an ETA (estimated time of arrival) of July 14th. We should have them on the shelves and ready to ship out a week after that. Still no news on Dock Arabica, which we do not import ourselves. PodMerchant Stout should be back in stock around July 2nd.

Summer's officially here and time to keep cool in delicious style. Lovely Rachel (PodMerchant Customer Support) enjoys a summer heat-beater: Espresso and Ice Cream. A shot or two of your favorite espresso over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Be sure to let the espresso cool down a bit first to avoid melting the ice cream. Rachel is enjoying PodMerchant House Blend over Häagen-Dazs vanilla in a Lucaffe Glass Cappuccino cup.

PodMerchant Featured Product

This issue's Featured Product is Lucaffe Messico Espresso Pods. I've featured this pod before, but I have to say that the relative lack of popularity of this pod does not reflect my very high opinion of it. So I want to call it to our reader's attention as a coffee that you should definitely give a try.

Lucaffe Messico is a single origin coffee, meaning it is a 100% Arabica bean harvested from only a single growing region (see our Coffee Primer). The beans are Altura, high grown, cultivated above 1400 m. in the Oaxaca and Veracruz States. Lucaffe claims some degree of organic cultivation.

Though Messico is a single-origin coffee, it has a well-rounded robust flavor that is more typical of blends. It has a medium body (mouth feel). The crema is good and sticks to the cup, leaving rings with each sip. The flavor suggests peanuts and chocolate. This is a nicely hearty espresso and is one of my personal favorites.

FaceBook

PodMerchant has a FaceBook Page! Check us out. If you have a FaceBook account, we'd appreciate you becoming a "fan" of PodMerchant. We urge our customers to post photos of themselves enjoying espresso, especially if you live in a unique or far-away place.

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That's all for this issue of the PODcast.


Kevin Garrett, The PodMerchant.