Hello dawnstar-ga,
I was intrigued by your questions both as a coffee drinker and history
buff. Trying to find a simple and quick answer to your question led me
on an odyssey of discovery about American attitudes about
mind-altering substances, temperance movements and political
struggles. The history of coffee shows that it was appreciated from
the beginning for its stimulant properties. Migrating west by covered
wagon was very hard work and coffee was an effective stimulant as well
as a small pleasure in the midst of a very hard life. It was easily
available and small quantities would go a long way so it was easy to
carry.
Examination of the history of coffee in the Americas also led to the
political implications of the use of tea and the eventual substitution
of coffee for tea for political reasons. Remember the Boston Tea
Party!
Another fascinating aspect of the use of coffee was seeing it as a
substitute for alcoholic beverages. Alcohol use was extremely
widespread in the early history of the US and exploring the history of
temperance movements inevitably leads to discussions of the full range
of psychoactive substances, including coffee.
So, the simple answer is that coffee was carried by the pioneers not
for its ?nutritional value? but rather for its psychoactive effects
and its ease of use as a socially appropriate and pleasurable
beverage.
I?ve included lots of links so you can continue your explorations. Enjoy!
~ czh ~
http://www.tc.edu/centers/cifas/drugsandsociety/background/chronologydruguse.html
Chronology of Psychoactive Substance Use
1750-1775
COFFEE
America. As an outgrowth of heavy tea taxes and the Boston Tea Party
(1773), abstinence from tea is equated with the quest for liberty. The
colonial tradition of tea drinking permanently declines and coffee
consumption increases. Dr. Benjamin Rush writes numerous papers on the
ravages caused by tea drinking, although after the revolutionary war
he promotes tea as an alternative to alcohol.
***** This is an excellent article and is quoted by many other web pages.
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http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/opi010.htm
Opium -- Opium History, 1858 To 1940
Similarly, in the United States between 1865 and 1902 coffee
consumption increased nearly three-fold, while sugar jumped four-fold.
The simple 18th century diet of milled grains had given way to one
spiced with large quantities of protein (eggs and beef), glucose
(sugar), and stimulants (coffee and tea).
If an energized diet of proteins, glucose and caffeine could be used
to stimulate the body through a long working day, then narcotic-based
medicines could be used to relax it in the short hours of rest.
***** Another good resource for putting coffee in perspective among
the various psychoactive substances used throughout history.
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http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpioneer.html
Frontier American foodways
***** This site gives you an excellent overview of the provisions the
westward pioneers considered worth taking with them.
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http://www.bisuzscoffee.com/coffee_history.htm
The History & Origins of Coffee
Consumption of coffee in the United States began as early as 1668. The
first documented license to sell coffee was obtained by Dorothy Jones
of the Massachusetts Colony in 1670. It was the famous British tax on
tea, however, that elevated the role of coffee forever. The British
East India Tea Company harbored plans to develop a profitable market
in the colonies. But the Boston Tea Party, plotted by revolutionaries
in Boston's lively Green Dragon coffee house, made drinking coffee a
popular form of protest against the iron fist of the monarchy. From
that point forward, the more refined beverage of the British crown
never regained a substantial foothold.
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http://www.awhiteraven.com/brewing.html
Storing and Brewing Coffee
In the 1800s the cardinal rule when making coffee was to put the
grounds into the water and make sure the water came to a boil. This
was more about survival than taste because water was full of
contaminants and boiling water was the only way to keep from getting
sick. In the 1900s, however, it was discovered that the taste of
coffee was much better if the water was added after you boiled it to
the coffee grounds.
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http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/newsrelease.asp?releasenum=202
SIDEBAR: COFFEEMAKERS IN HISTORY
1800s
In America, cowboys and settlers prepare coffee by boiling the water,
then waiting for the grounds to settle at the bottom of the pot, often
throwing in some cold water to hasten the process. Another common
pioneer method is to place the grounds in a sock or other cloth sack
before placing them in hot water to steep.
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http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/gen003.htm
History Of Drug Use U.S. (Page 1 of 5)
Early Substance Habits
Our European forebears, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth century
explorers, traders, and conquerors, were open to the pleasures and
products of the new worlds.
The European explorers from Columbus on found other [in addition to
alcohol] mind-affecting drugs, and brought them with them. Tobacco was
discovered on Columbus' first voyage. Cocaine was found in large areas
of South America. Caffeine and LSD-like drugs were found scattered all
over the world ... the Europeans not only adopted nicotine and
caffeine but spread them everywhere.
Among other new habits the early explorers introduced into European
culture were the many ways to enjoy caffeine: coffee from Arabia and
Turkey; tea from China; the West African Kola nut, later used as a
source of caffeine in cola drinks in nineteenth and twentieth century
United States; drinks from the bean of Mexico's cocoa tree; Brazil's
ilex plant, from which mate is brewed; and cassina, early used in a
caffeine beverage by Indians living in the (now) Virginia to Florida
region, and as far west along the Gulf coast as the Rio Grande.
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http://www.jitterbuzz.com/coftrip.html
Explore The Magical World of Coffee
In the Beginning
The simplest possible way to brew coffee is to boil it. All you do is
put the ground beans into a pot with water, put heat underneath it and
let the water boil. After you turn the heat off, you are left with a
sludgy mixture of grounds and coffee that has to be strained. If you
use a sauce pan, you can strain the grounds using cheesecloth. The
typical "coffee pot" has a strainer built into the pour spout. Note
that heating, infusion and serving are integrated in one place.
***** This is a wonderful site that explains and illustrates all types
of coffee preparation, coffee pots and coffee brewing inventions.
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