Coffee

Coffee usually refers to the roasted and ground beans of the Coffea plant. It was first discovered in Ethiopia by the indigenous population. It was first cultivated circa 675 CE in Arabia. By the ninth century, it was also drunk in Persia. Abu ibn Sina (aka Avicenna) was acquainted with coffee around 1000 CE.

In 1475, the first coffee shop opened in Istanbul. Kiva Han is still open today. The firstEuropean to mention coffee was Prospero Alpino of Padua, a visitor to Ottoman-controlled Egypt in 1580.

During the 17th century coffee houses opened in England and became quickly popular meeting places for men to engage in discussions. This distressed alewives (due to competition) and some women (who believed coffee reduced men's virilty).

Major References

Private emails from Baron Hrölf Herjölfssen, O.P., SCA Barony of Ynys Fawr, Kingdom of Lochac

Coffee in the SCA

While coffee was not known in Europe during the medieval period, it is considered period by consensus in the SCA.

External Links

• Atlantian A&S Links: Coffee