100 days – Day 17

100 days – Day 17

COFFEE!

 “Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and as sweet as love” – Turkish proverb.

 

I read that Starbucks is bringing its cheaper coffee brand, “Seattle’s Best Coffee”,  to the UK to compete with rivals such as McDonalds as it faces flagging sales.

 

Now, I have to admit that I’m totally bamboozled by the huge range of coffees available in the likes of Starbucks and Costa Coffee.

 

from Starbuck’s website:

“Did you know there are over 87,000 different drink combinations at Starbucks. Why not try a syrup in your morning latte, or try soy in your mocha? A drizzle of buttery caramel on the top of your cappuccino? The possibilities are endless….discover your favourite.

1. Hazelnut Macchiato
2. Vanilla Macchiato
3. Salted Caramel Mocha
4. Vanilla Spice Latte
5. Caffè Americano
6. Flat White
7. Caffè Latte
8. Caffè Mocha
9. Cappuccino
10. Caramel Macchiato
11. Espresso
12. Espresso Con Panna
13. Espresso Macchiato
14. Flavoured Latte
15. Iced Caffè Americano
16. Iced Caffè Latte
17. Iced Caffè Mocha
18. Iced Caramel Macchiato
19. Iced Flavoured Latte
20. Iced Skinny Flavoured Latte
21. Skinny Flavoured Latte
22. White Chocolate Mocha

 

See what I mean?  Can you just get “a coffee”?

I remember that being the case.  It was “Do you want milk and sugar in it?”  That was it!

There used to be a Burger King at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh.  Many years ago, I once asked for a “black coffee, please”  The youth behind the counter then asked, “Do you want milk with it?”!!!!

 

Coffee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia; the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi shrines of Yemen. In East Africa and Yemen, coffee was used in native religious ceremonies. As these ceremonies conflicted with the beliefs of the Christian church, the Ethiopian Church banned the secular consumption of coffee until the reign of Emperor Menelik II. The beverage was also banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe

In the late 1500s, coffee had reached Europe and Vatican officials were clamoring to condemn it as Satanic. After all, it came from the Islamic world, so the Catholic church was understandably loath to embrace anything that came from the “land of the infidels.” According to legend, Vatican officials asked Pope Clement VIII to impose a ban on coffee, but he refused to do so before trying it first himself. Thus, he ordered that some coffee be prepared for him. He evidently enjoyed it very much because legends says that he remarked “This Satan’s drink is delicious…it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall fool Satan by baptizing it.”

 

 BEING A TRUE BRIT, HOWEVER, YOU CANNAE WHACK A GOOD STRONG CUP OF TEA!!!!!