Word of the Chair – Newsletter April 2024
Let’s start with a quiz; what do Johan Sebastian Bach, Vincent van Gogh and Jackie Chan have in common? Can you guess the answer?
They were all coffee lovers. Bach even wrote a Coffee Cantata to celebrate the beverage. Now I count myself among those greatly appreciating a nice brew, especially during the mid-morning dip. The history of coffee and our coffee culture has a long pedigree and showcases the increasing global interconnectedness we put centre stage in the International Studies programme. Coffee as a crop is thought to originate from Ethiopia. The first cultivation of the coffee shrub occurred in present-day Yemen in the fifteenth century. Subsequently it spread around the globe, notably to Brazil, which remains today the largest coffee producer in the world.* Its cultivation and trade have been intimately tied up with competition, conquest, but also coercion and control.
Despite this, the practice of drinking coffee spread and turned into a social activity. In the late seventeenth century coffee houses sprung up in the Low Countries, Germany and England. It attained an air of controversy, as coffee houses came to be seen as hotbeds of conspiracy and political agitation. The other most common drink, beer, would generally incapacitate people. Drinking coffee, however, would give people energy and turn them into political dissidents. In his book The Devil’s Cup; Coffee, The Driving Force in History, Stewart Allen ascribes important power to coffee consumption, not just in these coffee houses, but as a more general motor in human history and civilizations.**
Drinking a lot of coffee, however, has a bad reputation. Caffeine is addictive, it raises blood pressure and can disturb sleep patterns. A healthy intake of caffeine is subject to limitations. Interestingly enough, more and more research is coming out highlighting the significant health benefits of coffee consumption. With an optimal number of around four coffees per day, drinkers are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and cirrhosis or liver disease. Moreover, the benefits of drinking coffee, such as alertness, and increased concentration make it attractive. Lastly, having a nice cup is also beneficial, especially when shared with friends, for well-being and self-care. Who would you like to have a cup of coffee with? Presently, there are many offers available on the Acts of Kindness pillar in the hallway at Schouwburgstraat. It might offer just that nice opportunity to drink coffee with someone new.
Bach’s love of coffee he expressed in his cantata as: ‘Ah how sweet coffee tastes, more delicious than a thousand kisses, milder than muscat wine. Coffee, I have to have coffee, and, if someone wants to pamper me, ah, then bring me coffee as a gift’. *** With that last stretch of the semester ahead, before the summer recess, coffee can be of help by bringing people together but also for performing during the upcoming exams. Lots of good luck!
* The National Coffee Association: https://www.ncausa.org/about-coffee/history-of-coffee
** Stewart Allen, The Devil’s Cup; Coffee, The Driving Force in History (New York: Random House 1999).
*** https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-211