Pope Clement VIII - Coffee

Coffee

See also: History of coffee

Coffee aficionados often claim that the spread of its popularity is due to Pope Clement VIII's influence. Being pressured by his advisers to declare coffee the "bitter invention of Satan" because of its popularity among Muslims and it being a sort of antithesis or substitute for wine (which was used in the Eucharist), upon tasting it he instead declared that, "This devil's drink is so delicious...we should cheat the devil by baptizing it." The year often cited is 1600. It is not clear whether this is a true story, but it may have been found amusing at the time.

Read more about this topic:  Pope Clement VIII

Famous quotes containing the word coffee:

    “Mrs. Small went to the kitchen for her pocketbook
    And came back to the living room with a peculiar look
    And the coffee pot.
    Pocketbook. Pot.
    Pot. Pocketbook.”
    —Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)

    “The morning cup of coffee has an exhiliration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.”
    —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)

    “No living orator would convince a grocer that coffee should be sold without chicory; and no amount of eloquence will make an English lawyer think that loyalty to truth should come before loyalty to his client.”
    —Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)