How Important Is Coffee?

[Dragoner]

Coffee properly brewed is like the alien blood burning through the deck in the first movie if spilled. Preferred straight black, bitter and harsh; half and half maybe.

 

[jac]

Black as space,
Hot as a supernova
Thick enough to grease my SMG receiver
Strong enough to use in place of H2 in the jump drive

...yeah, us engineers love coffee.

 

[DangerousThing]

Caffeine is an unnecessary addiction. It makes you feel like you need it, so that you can't start the day without it. What most people don't know is that it only takes about two weeks of heck to stop the addiction, and only one drink to restart it.

I can't stand coffee, I'm not fond of tea. I'm currently clean, but I do like coke occasionally; the kind that comes in red cans.

 

[JMiskimen]

Blessed is the bean.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion,
it is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
the hands acquire shaking,
the shaking becomes a warning;
it is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

Blessed be the bean.

What he said and then some. Add a quality smoke to the mix and a game could materialize at any moment.

 

[BlackBat242]

Coffee is only safe for consumption with the addition of a suitable quantity of Jamesons, Baileys, ... Oh, go ask Larry Niven... he (and Fuzzy Pink) made the stuff, I just drank it!

OK, LosCon 12 in 1985. I was 3 places in line ahead of James P. Hogan.



Otherwise, hot chocolate is the preferred beverage for me. With a good shot of Pusser's added for flavor, if I'm not driving anywhere..

 

[McPerth]

Caffeine is an unnecessary addiction. It makes you feel like you need it, so that you can't start the day without it. What most people don't know is that it only takes about two weeks of heck to stop the addiction, and only one drink to restart it.

I can't stand coffee, I'm not fond of tea. I'm currently clean, but I do like coke occasionally; the kind that comes in red cans.

So you'd gladly give you nick to it :devil:?

As for too many other things: all is poison, nothing is poison, just depends on the dosage.

 

[SanDragon]

Note: Starbucks does not make coffee – they merely sell the water they used to mop the floor.

Quoted for truth, but not from firsthand experience.

And coffee, tea, and alcohol use are greatly discouraged in my religion.

 

[Jame]

It is a drug to be avoided.

I don't like it anyways and my fiancee's actively allergic.

 

[mirc]

Well I'm from northern Germany, so it's tea and the tea is allowed to be strong (ideally a strong mix of Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Java, Sumatra following old traditional recipes), usually served with "Kluntje" (rock sugar) and cream.

It tastes like THE big reward from withstanding our "Schietwetter" (wich basically translates into what it looks like - sh*t weather) when a fire bristles in the fireplace complimenting the cracking of the sugar in the cup. For me it requires a (rare) moment of calm however.

During the busy week it's coffee, hot, strong and slightly creamed. As opposed to the turkish variant above, it should be hot, blonde and sweet

And at all the other times water, whiskey or beer need to suffice

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

Coffee is the single largest source of antioxidants in the average American's diet. Nothing else even comes close. In fact, not even the top few competitors combined come close.

Coffee drinkers also have measurably lower incidences of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's/dementia, heart disease and gout. Parkinson's, for example, occurs at 1/5 the rate in coffee drinkers as it does the general population, and several cancers (colon, liver, skin and others) occur at significantly lower rates in them as well. And coffee drinkers, in general, just live longer than non-drinkers.

In short, coffee is magical. Drink as much of it as you can.* I know I do.

--------

*Medium roasted and vacuum brewed. Drinking burnt coffee makes about as much sense as eating charred steak. You might as well grind up some charcoal from a firepit and pour hot water over it for all the good it will do you.

 

[Timerover51]

I found this on Project Gutenberg. Clearly, one of the great men of history.

On August 13, 1683, Kolschitzky donned a Turkish uniform, passed through the enemy's lines and reached the Emperor's army across the Danube. Several times he made the perilous journey between the camp of the prince of Lorraine and the garrison of the governor of Vienna. One account says that he had to swim the four intervening arms of the Danube each time he performed the feat. His messages did much to keep up the morale of the city's defenders. At length King John and his army of rescuing Poles arrived and were consolidated with the Austrians on the summit of Mount Kahlenberg. It was one of the most dramatic moments in history. The fate of Christian Europe hung in the balance. Everything seemed to point to the triumph of the crescent over the cross. Once again Kolschitzky crossed the Danube, and brought back word concerning the signals that the prince of Lorraine and King John[Pg 50] would give from Mount Kahlenberg to indicate the beginning of the attack. Count Starhemberg was to make a sortie at the same time.

The battle took place September 12, and thanks to the magnificent generalship of King John, the Turks were routed. The Poles here rendered a never-to-be-forgotten service to all Christendom. The Turkish invaders fled, leaving 25,000 tents, 10,000 oxen, 5,000 camels, 100,000 bushels of grain, a great quantity of gold, and many sacks filled with coffee—at that time unknown in Vienna. The booty was distributed; but no one wanted the coffee. They did not know what to do with it; that is, no one except Kolschitzky. He said, "If nobody wants those sacks, I will take them", and every one was heartily glad to be rid of the strange beans. But Kolschitzky knew what he was about, and he soon taught the Viennese the art of preparing coffee. Later, he established the first public booth where Turkish coffee was served in Vienna.

This, then, is the story of how coffee was introduced into Vienna, where was developed that typical Vienna café which has become a model for a large part of the world. Kolschitzky is honored in Vienna as the patron saint of coffee houses. His followers, united in the guild of coffee makers (kaffee-sieder), even erected a statue in his honor. It still stands as part of the facade of a house where the Kolschitzygasse merges into the Favoritengasse, as shown in the accompanying picture.

The source is All About Coffee, by William H. Ukers, copyright 1922, and so now public domain. For those dedicated coffee drinkers, the link is:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28500/28500-h/28500-h.htm

 

[Timerover51]

Some coffee consumption figures, taken from the same source as the above post. The data is as of the year 1921, and in the US Prohibition took effect in 1919.

The rise of the United States as a coffee consumer in the last century and a quarter has been marked, not only by steadily increased imports as the population of the country increased, but also by a steady growth in per capita consumption, showing that the beverage has been continually advancing in favor with the American people. Today it stands at practically its highest point, each individual man, woman, and child having more than 12 pounds a year, enough for almost 500 cups, allotted to him as his portion. This is four times as much as it was a hundred years ago; and more than twice as much as it was in the years immediately following the Civil War. In general it is fifty percent more than the average in the twenty years preceding 1897, in which year a new high level of coffee consumption was apparently established, the per capita figure for that year being 10.12 pounds, which has been approximately the average since then.

Since the advent of country-wide prohibition in the United States on July 1, 1919, about two pounds more coffee per person, or 80 to 100 cups, have been consumed than before. Part of this increase is doubtless to be charged to prohibition; but it is yet too early to judge fairly as to the exact effect of "bone-dry" legislation on coffee drinking. The continued growth in the use of coffee in the United States has been in decided contrast to the per capita consumption of tea, which is less now than half a century ago.

On the continent of Europe, however, coffee enjoys much the same sort of popularity that it does in the United States. The leading continental coffee ports are Hamburg, Bremen, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Havre, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and Trieste; and the nationalities of these ports indicate pretty well the countries that consume the most coffee. The northern ports are transhipping points for large quantities of coffee going to the Scandinavian countries, as well as importing ports for their own countries; and these countries have been among the leading coffee drinkers, per head of population, for many decades. Norway, for instance, in 1876 was consuming about 8.8 pounds of coffee per person; Sweden, 5 pounds; and Denmark, 5.2 pounds. The per capita consumption of various other countries at about the same period, 1875 to 1880, has been estimated as follows: Holland, 17.6 pounds; Belgium, 9.1 pounds; Germany, 5.1 pounds; Austria-Hungary, 2.2 pounds; Switzerland, 6.6 pounds; Prance, 3 pounds; Spain, 0.2 pounds; Portugal, 0.7 pounds; and Greece, 1.6 pounds.

Today, the leading country of the world in point of per capita consumption is Sweden (15.25 pounds); but Holland held that position for a long while. During the World War the disturbance of trade currents, and the high price of coffee, greatly reduced the amount of coffee drinking; and the Dutch took to drinking tea in considerable quantities.

I will put some more up in a little while. Enjoy your reading, Cryton!

 

[Darkwing]

The U.S. Navy runs more on black coffee than diesel, nuclear power, and jet fuel combined.

The 4 basic food groups of a sailor: Caffeine, Nicotine, Alcohol, and Motrin.

Mornings are never good. They are the evil time of day we are forced to wake up. Coffee enables surviving mornings. I pity the fool who doesn't like coffee (the original Olympian Ambrosia, I'm sure. I mean, Turkey is next door, and they used to have colonies all over half of it...)

I prefer my coffee hot, sweet, and blond. When I told that to a Starbucks clerk (No, I do not accept or their invented titles) in Florida, he replied that he drank his as black as his soul.
Now I'm never this glib, but I immediately told him to wash his feet more often.
Anyway, my coffee only comes in "large", not "venti" or "grande".

Tea is good, but it's not coffee. There are many varieties, but they are all "tea". "Chai" is not something different. "Chai" is simply Russian (and Hindi) for "tea", which is, after all, only english for "cha". A "chai tea latte" is about as multiply unnecessarily redundant as a Mercury Merkur. And I'll still drink chicory before tea if there's no real coffee.

Among soda, only Mountain Dew, Root Beer, and Cream Soda matter. Well, warm, flat 7-up when you have strep is useful...

If you get to Japan, you have to have the hot, canned coffee from the vending machines. I preferred Georgia Emerald Mountain Coffee. Great hand warmers, too. Also available as tea and energy drinks, both hot and cold...

And simple water, no flavorings? Just the starting point for the above. Nothing more. Not to be consumed until properly brewed into something more palatable. Even on the deck of a destroyer in the Arabian Gulf. In August. In 115 degrees Fahrenheit. In the shade.

As a measure of how important coffee is (and should be), read Jon M. Ford's "The Final Reflection". His Klingons learn to depend on and import 'kafei'.
That's sorta how I view it in my 3I (falling as it is, coffee is still the most vital resource).

 

[Darkwing]

Quoted for truth, but not from firsthand experience.

And coffee, tea, and alcohol use are greatly discouraged in my religion.

You're free to worship as you choose, but that's a deal-breaker for me. Just Like Judaism is not for me - no bacon! - so any religion that discourages, let alone prohibits my vices isn't going to work for me. Many years ago, I was challenged to give up coffee for lent. I gave up lent, not long before I gave up church. :devil:

 

[Cryton]

Some coffee consumption figures, taken from the same source as the above post. The data is as of the year 1921, and in the US Prohibition took effect in 1919.

I will put some more up in a little while. Enjoy your reading, Cryton!

Love it! Makes me sure that any world in a TU that can grow coffee, will, and those that can't will import it like mad!

 

[Timerover51]

For some more historic data on coffee consumption and shipments, the following is from the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom, by P. L. Simmonds, copyright 1854.

Coffee, up to 1830, paid a duty in the United States of five cents a pound. Since 1832 it has been free.

The population of the United States in 1840 was, in round numbers, seventeen millions; the average consumption of coffee for the three years ending 1841, 98½ millions of pounds, which gave a consumption of 5¾ lbs. per head. The average for the three years ending 1850, was 143 millions of pounds, and the population was twenty-three millions, which gave a consumption of 6¼ lbs. per head. In 1830 the consumption was only 3 lbs. per head; but [Pg 64]the price ruled nearly double what it was in the three years preceding 1850.

In 1821 the consumption per head, to the inhabitants of the United States, was 1 lb. 4 oz. In 1830, the proportion had increased to 3 lbs. per head, the foreign price having fallen fifty per cent. The importation in the year 1831 doubled, in consequence of the reduced duty; and the consumption per head for the four years ending with 1842, averaged 6 lb. per head, having quadrupled to each inhabitant since 1821. From 1820 to 1840, the Brazilian product increased 1,100 per cent, or 155 million pounds. In the same time the consumption in the United States increased 137 million pounds; leaving an increase of eighteen million pounds of Rio coffee, besides the enhanced products of all countries, to supply the increased consumption of England and Europe.

The consequence of the duty in England is, that while the United States, with a population of seventeen millions, consumed, in 1844, 149,711,820 lbs. of coffee, Great Britain, with a population of twenty-seven millions, consumed 31,934,000 lbs. only, or less than one-fourth the consumption of the United States. In 1851 the figures remained nearly the same, viz., 148,920,000 lbs. in the United States, and 32,564,000 lbs. for Great Britain.

In 1851, the US imported the following quantities of coffee from these four countries: Brazil = 107,578,257 pounds, Cuba = 3,009,084 pounds, St. Domingo = 13,205,766 pounds, Java = 2,423,968 pounds, out of a total import of 152,453,617 pounds. Now, that would have been prior to any oceanic telegraph, so all arrangements had to be made in advance. Looking at the record given in the book of previous years, this was not a speculative trading system, but one where the ships carried the cargo, without owning it in the least.

Note: This book has a staggering amount of information on trade in vegetable products prior to 1854, focusing primarily on the commerce between the rest of the world with Europe and the United States.

 

[Carlobrand]

Coffee (and chocolate) is poisonous to dogs - and therefore very likely to Vargr, though their larger mass will mitigate the effects considerably, perhaps no more than an upset stomach and a case of the trots. Still, one can imagine a bit of a diplomatic row erupting from a Vargr diplomat being offered a cup of coffee.:rofl:

 

[Timerover51]

Coffee (and chocolate) is poisonous to dogs - and therefore very likely to Vargr, though their larger mass will mitigate the effects considerably, perhaps no more than an upset stomach and a case of the trots. Still, one can imagine a bit of a diplomatic row erupting from a Vargr diplomat being offered a cup of coffee.:rofl:

Hmm, I guess I should have told that to my folks dog, who loved her cup of coffee with cream and sugar. She lived to a ripe old age of 15. She never was interested in chocolate though.

 

[Mithras]

Me? Don't touch, don't drink it, don't like it.
But then I'm English.
And I'm from Yorkshire. By'eck, we sup alot'o tea

 

[Timerover51]

Me? Don't touch, don't drink it, don't like it.
But then I'm English.
And I'm from Yorkshire. By'eck, we sup alot'o tea

My wife is strictly a tea drinker, so I consume a lot of that as well. Sugar, no cream here, when in the UK, cream tea with sugar. And where are you in Yorkshire? My wife and I spent a week wondering around there. We stayed in Thirsk, and used that as our headquarters for the week.