The pleasure of ...

... a cup of coffee, or let's take a fika

Quote of the week

“It’s amazing how the world begins to change through the eyes of a cup of coffee.”

– Donna A. Favors

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Hello,

What would we do without coffee? I certainly don’t know. It is a life saving drink that makes you see the world in a different light. Or even the scent of it. Is there another such good fragrance in the world? Or like Hugh Jackman explains it: “To me, the smell of fresh-made coffee is one of the greatest inventions.”

Top ten countries that drink most coffee per person (kg/year)

1. Finland - 12 kg/26 lbs 
2. Norway - 9.9 kg/22 lbs
3. Iceland - 9 kg/20 lbs
4. Denmark - 8.7 kg/19 lbs
5. Netherlands - 8.4 kg/19 lbs 
6. Sweden - 8.2 kg/18 lbs 
7. Switzerland - 7.9 kg/17 lbs 
8. Belgium - 6.8 kg/15 lbs
9. (tie) Luxembourg - 6.5 kg/14 lbs 
10. (tie) Canada - 6.5 kg/14 lbs

Coffee is so popular in Finland that two 10-minute coffee breaks are officially legal for Finnish workers. In Sweden we have a special word for drinking coffee, that is Fika. It is a break from work where you socialise with colleagues. It seems that Swedes spend an average of 9.5 days per year having a break for fika. As you see above Canada is the only non European country on the top ten list.

A short history of coffee

Tradition says that coffee originated in Ethiopia, from where it was spread across the Red Sea to Yemen in the 15th century. It was grown in the district of Arabia, and the variety still bears this name. Coffee was too good to be a local secret for long and by the 16th century it was found in Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. It was said to improve alertness and help you stay awake, allowing to spend more time for spiritual matters and praying. This is maybe not why we drink coffee today, but the qualities are still there and are drunken for the same reason.

The first coffee house opened in Constantinople (today Istanbul) in 1475. It was also served at home as a daily routine or while entertaining guests. In the coffee houses you did not only drink coffee you also engaged in conversations, listened to music, maybe even live performances. It could be enjoyed while playing chess, gossip with friends and catch up on news. Lacking the modern technology, coffee houses quickly became a center for exchanging and gaining information. The thousands of pilgrims visiting Mecca help spread the knowledge of coffee and its good qualities.

Europe

During the 17th century coffee had conquered Europe and became very popular. It was imported by Italy from the Ottoman empire, especially through Venice who was an international trading point and harbour. Venetian merchants knew a good deal when they saw it. The first European coffee house opened in Venice in 1645, and drinking coffee became a routine, especially for wealthy people. Not far behind was Oxford where a coffee house was opened in 1651. It became a place to meet, only for men, where business could be discussed. Many are the business ventures that is said to have started after a coffee session. Other countries followed suit.

The Americas

In 1670 the first coffee house licence was granted in Boston, and was followed by taverns who also started to sell coffee. Although tea was still more popular. At least until the Boston tea party, when it was considered unpatriotic to drink tea. This helped boost the coffee. Anyone who is reading this article from the States who could tell me if tea or coffee is there preferable drink today? The new world was an ideal place for cultivation of coffee and it spread quickly throughout Central and Latin America. Today, the biggest coffee procurer in the world is Brazil.

Coffee House Culture

In the late 17th and 18th century the coffee houses became popular among artists, writers and socialites, as well as for discussions on politics and business. In the 19th century a special culture developed in the Viennese coffee houses which spread through Europe.

Das Wiener Kaffeehaus

The Viennese Coffee House Culture is since 2011 listed as “Intangible Cultural Heritage” a part of UNESCO. It is described as a place, “where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill.”

These elegant houses create a special atmosphere, with marble tabletops, Thonet chairs, where you don’t only drink coffee, but read the papers and connect to other customers. Stefan Zweig described it as: “actually a sort of democratic club, open to everyone for the price of a cheap cup of coffee, where every guest can sit for hours with this little offering, to talk, write, play cards, receive post, and above all consume an unlimited number of newspapers and journals.” Some provide live piano music, or literary readings.

In late 19th and early 20th century writers frequently met in the coffee houses to exchange views, but also to write. Austrian writer and poet Peter Altenberg is said to have had his mail delivered to his favourite café, the Café Central. In Paris the Les Deux Magots was associated with intellectuals like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, not to talk about Ernest Hemingway, who had a soft spot for the place.

Krakow

The tradition of the coffee houses spread through the Austro-Hungarian empire to cities like Prague, Budapest, Sarajevo, Krakow, Trieste and Lviv, creating a multicultural climate for the artists and intellectuals meeting there. We had the pleasure of visiting a few of them while in Krakow.

Café Jama Michalika

It is one of the oldest cafés in Krakow, inaugurated in 1895. Initially the owner could only afford a single room in the back, without any windows. Today there are several rooms, with an entrance from Florianska street. The initial popularity was due to the owner’s offering students from Academy of Fine Arts to eat for free in exchange for their works of art. In 1905 Cabaret Zielony Balonik (Green Balloon) started to perform. The highlight of the show was a puppet theatre who produced shows against “bigotry and imperial censorship”. A selection of these dolls are displayed in the restaurant. Beautifully decorated in the Art Nouveau style, including mirrors, stained glass and lamps.  An atmosphere of days gone by.

Café Hawełka

For those of you who have visited the café Hawelka in Vienna, might recognise the name. First we thought the two places were connected, but it seems not. Just two person who wanted to share their love for coffee. Antoni Hawelka (1840-1894) was a Polish merchant who opened the restaurant Pod Palmaı (Under the Palm) along the Market Square. He started with a colonial store and when business improved he opened the restaurant. He traded not only in the Krakow area, but also abroad. He was even given an imperial warrant and became a purveyor to the imperial court in Vienna. There is a Viennese connection after all. We did not eat there just looked inside, and admired the beautiful door.

Café Noworolski

The first place where we sat down to have a glass of wine arriving at the Market Square. It reminded us of Florians in Venice with its pillars along the outdoor terrace. Looking inside took you back to a lost era, with beautiful furniture and mirrors. It is the most famous café in the city, and dates back to the 19th century. The present day café opened in 1910-1912, and became popular among the elite, and artists and professors. The Noworolski family lost their café when it was nationalised in 1949 by the communists, but it was given back to the family in 1992.

It was beautiful to sit in the shade on the terrace with a cold glass of white wine on a very hot day, looking out over the square. Admiring the Adam Mickiewicz Monument in the middle of the square. As, unfortunately, is often the case with places like this, the service does not live up to the surroundings.

Restaurant Wierzynek

Another Art Nouveau place situated in one corner of the square. It has four floors and can accommodate 200 guests. We were sitting outside, but I went inside to have a look at the interior with its Art Nouveau style which I love. There are eight separate dinings rooms with exotic names like the Italian Pompeii Rooms, the Tatra Room, the Clock Room, the Knights’ Room and the Chamber of Imagination. Many world celebrities have been dining here like Charles de Gaulle, Fidel Castro, Sophie Marceau and Kate Moss. Good enough for us then.

We enjoyed a three-course meal which was excellent. Good service and great surroundings. Just sitting there looking at the square, watching people passing by, sipping a glas of cold rosé wine, and waiting for the sun to set. A perfect ending to the day.

Europeiska

Next to Hawelka we found this beautiful Art Nouveau café. Admiring the display in the window was as close as we came to these delicious patisserie, and a quick look inside. The vaulted ceilings and spacious rooms are from the 17th century Classical style, probably from the original Krzysztofory Palace where it is situated. The Patisserie was founded in 1929, and the decor is designed to match that time. It is visible in the Art Deco style of the furniture, mirrors, chandeliers and the ornamented bar. It looks beautiful and reminding us of Art Deco houses we have visited in Brussels.

On my blog this week

The Paris in July challenge is ongoing, and generated two posts.

Paris in July, 2023 - Château life

Paris in July, 2023 - Brigitte Bardot, a French icon

I have read 73 books so far this year. Here are some of my favourites, mostly nonfiction it seems.

Florian Illies - Kärlek i hatets tid (Liebe in Zeiten des Hasses/Love in a Time of Hate) - European history from the years 1929-1939 seen through love. Extraordinary.

Bernadette Murphy - Van Gogh's Ear - the author set out to find out how much of his ear Van Gogh cut off. It turned into a real life detective story, changing what we know of Van Gogh’s life. Review to come.

Paris in July 2023 - Axel von Fersen and Queen Marie Antoinette by Margareta Beckman - the greatest love story of the 18th century? The letters between Marie Antoinette and the Swedish Count Axel von Fersen have partly been deciphered letting us look into their love story. Amazing.

Martin Kylhammar - Ett hemligt liv, Verner von Heidenstam och Kate Bang - A Secret Life, the story of the relationship between Swedish poet/author Verner von Heidenstam and Danish Kate Bang in the beginning of the 20th century. For twenty years they kept their relationship more or less secret, since they lived together without being married. Then something happened. Another amazing biography, well researched. Review to follow.