Esoteric Coffeehouse

As with all major discoveries, serendipity was at play when legendary Ethiopian goat herder Kaldi first noticed the strange properties of the coffee berry. Myth has it that he observed his goats behaving strangely upon consumption of the mysterious berries: they began “dancing” around excitedly. An enterprising – and courageous – gentleman, Kaldi took it upon himself to try out the berries. As chance would have it, he did not die, but in fact became a happier man (and apparently made his wife a happier woman too!).

One cannot help to identify in this short story the hints of ancient beliefs. In fact, the story has a flavour of forgotten mystery rituals, recalling the Greek legends of Dionysus the discoverer of wine or the goat-like Pan with his invention of the reed flute.  In the absence of evidence, one can speculate  on the association with ‘goats’, frenzy, wild dances and ‘wife-pleasing’ in the little Kaldi story. The suggestion may be of an earth mystery that could easily be associated with devil worship, which in fact it was.

Another beautifully ambiguous tidbit of the Kaldi story has the goat herder, impelled by his happy wife, presenting himself with the berries to the local monk of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The monk promptly attributed the berries to the work of the devil, but in a twist, the other monks were delighted with the smell and tried it themselves¹. In this tale, the ambivalent religious use of coffee was first prefigured.

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I will start by saying something more or less disturbing: I am not a big coffee drinker. Sure, I used to drink coffee everyday at work, but this was more of necessity than pleasure: I am not a morning person. If I drink too much coffee I get giddy and antsy and rather short-tempered.

That being said, I do admire coffee for the following reasons:

• It’s dark. There is a purely earthly quality to coffee in its dark and ‘thick’ nature. In other words, there is a mystery in coffee that only coffee addicts can explain.   It has the potential of creating a haven and a world of its own making.
• It’s liquid. I see the element of water as a symbol of the uniting fluid that lies beneath all things. Thus, in my mind, coffee stimulates esoteric discussion. Its fluidity is also given by the endless combination of coffee products that exist: mocha, Americano, cappuccino, frappucino etc.
• It’s fiery. Coffee gives that boost that people need in coping with the ‘real’ world. People come in a coffeehouse, drink a cappuccino and leave refreshed and energized to their own purposes.

I believe that ‘coffeehouses’ have brilliantly capitalized on the qualities of coffee I already mentioned above.

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