A Rich and Tantalizing Brew: A History of How Coffee Connected the World

by Jeanette M. Fregulia

Overview

The history of coffee is much more than the tale of one luxury good—it is a lens through which to consider various strands of world history, from food and foodways to religion and economics and sociocultural dynamics.

A Rich and Tantalizing Brew traces the history of coffee from its cultivation and brewing first as a private pleasure in the highlands of Ethiopia and Yemen through its emergence as a sought-after public commodity served in coffeehouses first in the Muslim world, and then traveling across the Mediterranean to Italy, to other parts of Europe, and finally to India and the Americas. At each of these stops the brew gathered ardent aficionados and vocal critics, all the while reshaping patterns of socialization.

Taking its conversational tone from the chats often held over a steaming cup, A Rich and Tantalizing Brew offers a critical and entertaining look at how this bitter beverage, with a little help from the tastes that traveled with it—chocolate, tea, and sugar—has connected people to each other both within and outside of their typical circles, inspiring a new context for sharing news, conducting business affairs, and even plotting revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682260876
Publisher:	University of Arkansas Press
Publication date:	03/04/2019
Series:	Food and Foodways Series
Edition description:	1
Pages:	193
Sales rank:	682,037
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Jeanette M. Fregulia is associate professor and chair of the Department of History at Carroll College in Helena, Montana.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface ix

Preface: A Personal Journey to Coffee xi

Introduction One Bean, Many Histories 3

Chapter 1 Desert to Sea: Coffee, History, and Place 17

Chapter 2 Sociability, Chemistry and Coffee's Eastern Origins 37

Chapter 3 Coffee Crosses the Mediterranean 57

Chapter 4 Coffee and the World of Commodities 79

Chapter 5 Anxieties about Coffee 103

Chapter 6 Coffee and New Patterns of Socialization 123

Chapter 7 Coffee and Modernity 145

Conclusion Just the Grounds 159

Notes 163

Bibliography 191

Index 205

Editorial Reviews

“Jeanette M. Fregulia has written a beautifully woven history of coffee, bringing together its social, spiritual, economic, and aesthetic roles with elegance and exceptional scholarship. This book is a must for scholars, students, and lovers of the ‘rich and tantalizing brew’ alike. It will become standard reading for anyone interested in understanding how coffee became one of the most beloved commodities on the planet.”
—Nancy Stockdale, University of North Texas

From the Publisher