about city, coffee, history & health...

"they have in turkey, a drink called coffa, made of a berry of the same name, as black as soot, and of a strong scent, but not aromatical; which they take, beaten into powder, in water as hot as they can drink it: and they take it, and sit at it in their coffa-houses, which are like our taverns. this drink comforteth the brain, and heart, and helpeth digestion." - francis bacon, from sylva sylvarum, summing up the traveler's tales

Historically coffeehouses have been influential establishments, used extensively by artists, intellectuals, merchants, and bankers as a gathering site for social, political and commercial activities. Today those trends continue, at city coffeehouse initially people may visit for the unforgettable cappuccinos, but then gradually become part of the social interaction within the coffeehouse. It is the people that give a coffeehouse its intangible attitude, they create a unique energy that changes from day to day. City Coffeehouse views itself as an extension of the neighborhood, generating a diverse and eclectic "coffeehouse crowd" from Allen Park and the all the nearby communities.

When you can't visit city coffeehouse in person, visit us online. Check out our friends on my space and sign up for tweets to recieve updates on city coffeehouse events.

city coffeehouse is a official wi-fi zone.

origins of coffee

Kaldi and the Dancing Goats - Among some of the oldest written records that make reference to coffee is one called "The Success of Coffee", written by a wise man from Mecca named Abu-Bek in the beginnings of the XV century and translated to French in 1699 by Antoine de Gailland, the same translator of "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights".

The strongest and most accepted legend about the discovery and drinking of coffee is the one making reference to the goat shepard named Kaldi. Legend says that Kaldi noticed the strange behaviour of his goats after they had eaten the fruit and leafs of a certain bush. The goats were jumping around and running full of excitement and energy. The bush that Kaldi thought his goats had eaten from had cherry-like fruits. Kaldi decided to try out the leaves of the bush and later on he too felt full of energy.

Kaldi then took some of the bush's fruit and branches to a monastery close to his pasture grounds. He told the Abbot the story of his goats and of how he too had felt after eating the leaves. The Abbot decided to cook the branches and cherries but the result was such a bitter drink that he threw the entire pot and its concoction into the fire. When the cherries started to burn, the beans inside them produced such a pleasant aroma that it gave the abbot the idea of making a drink based on the roasted beans, and this is how coffee as a drink came to be.

Whirling, Swirling Omar - Circa 1239 the Turks say Yemen Sufi Sheikh Omar (Abu’l Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Umar) a renowned physician from the court of Ethiopian King Sadaddin II had an illicit affair with the king’s daughter and was banished along with his posse to the mountains of Yemen where they set up a settlement. Sustenance was sparse and they partook of some red berries from one of the local plants to augment their diet. They soon discovered the stimulating effect of the coffee cherry and learned how to make a decoction from the boiled cherries and leaves that focused their concentration, belayed their hunger and held off fatigue.

Back home the citizens were experiencing an itching plague and a group made the pilgrimage to see the famous exiled Sufi in search of a cure. Well Abu’l Hasan administered some of the newly found substance and the itching subsided and he was welcomed back to Ethiopia. Upon his return he promoted and established coffee cultivation and the drinking of Qahwa, founded the city of Al Murk/Mocha, and started a Sufist school that incorporated copious coffee consumption in its late night prayers. He is honored as the patron saint of Mocha, coffee growers, coffee house proprietors and imbibers. In Algeria both Omar, and his place of birth Shadhilly, are honored by the term shadhiliye a colloquialism for coffee.

coffee gets europes blessing

As it had in Africa and the Middle East, the popularity of coffee spread quickly throughout Europe. Imported to Europe via the spice route by the Venetians in 1615, coffee was initially very expensive and used mostly as a medicine. Within forty years, however, Italian lemonade vendors were plying coffee – along with other herbal infusions and orangeade. As in the east, some religious fanatics sought to ban the drink as “an invention of satan” but Pope Clement VII, upon trying a cup, remained clearheaded enough to announce that, “we shall fool satan by baptizing coffee and making a truly Christian beverage."

The first bottega del caffe – an establishment promoting coffee not as medicine, but as a treat was opened in 1683 under the arcades of the Piazza San Marco. Its success was immediate and dozens of other little cafés throughout the city followed its lead. By 1750 Venice had been completely won over, and the local passion for coffee inspired Carlo Goldoni’s comedy La Bogttega del caffe, which recounts the adventures of the owner, waiters, and customers of a modest café located on one of the city’s piazzettas.

 

 

 

 

coffee...a hot commodity

Caffeine in the form of coffee, tea and chocolate is one of the most widely consumed molecules in the world, and has been for centuries. It has remained popular because of its many positive effects on the body, which include stimulating the central nervous system, and making one more alert and giving one a boost of energy. About 90% of Americans consume caffeine every single day, and it has been estimated that over 120,000 tons of caffeine is consumed around the global per year. This makes caffeine America’s most popular drug by far, the beneficial effects of caffeine have created a world-wide demand for coffee throughout history. Coffee has been integrated and transfixed in into modern society and is the second most valuable commodity, after oil, in the world market. Caffeine has impacted the world socially, economically and politically over the centuries, influencing trading, colonization, and the development of countries as well as new industries.  

good news about coffee  

It's been linked to lowered risk of diabetes, and contains soluble fiber, the type that can help lower cholesterol.

By Joyce Hendley, EatingWell.com

Coffee lovers may be raising their cups—and perhaps eyebrows—at the recent news (in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry) that the drink contains soluble fiber, the type that can help lower cholesterol. With about 1 gram per cup, coffee’s fiber impact is modest. But the report is the latest in a growing stream of positive news about coffee.

Some of the most promising findings come from studies of diabetes. When Harvard researchers combined data from nine studies involving more than 193,000 people, they found that regular coffee drinkers had a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who abstained. The more they drank, the lower their risk.

And, despite coffee’s reputation for being bad for the heart, recent epidemiologic studies haven’t found a connection; some even suggest coffee can be protective. A study in February’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that healthy people 65 and over who drank four or more cups of caffeinated beverages daily (primarily coffee) had a 53 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-coffee-drinkers.

It’s even more beguiling when you consider that the immediate effects of drinking coffee tend to go in the opposite direction, raising heart rate and blood pressure and temporarily making cells more resistant to insulin. “But those effects are probably short-lived, as people develop a tolerance,” explains Frank Hu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, who has studied coffee extensively. “In the long term, beneficial components in coffee may have stronger, more lasting effects.”

How coffee might work isn’t clear; the studies weren’t designed to identify cause-and-effect relationships. Antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acid (related to polyphenols in grapes), are likely players: coffee has more of them per serving than blueberries do, making it the top source of antioxidants in our diets. Antioxidants help quell inflammation, which might explain coffee’s effect in inflammation-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Magnesium in coffee might help make cells more sensitive to insulin. And caffeine seems to have its own beneficial effects; the diabetes studies found that those who drank regular coffee had lower risks of the disease than decaf drinkers. Caffeinated-coffee drinking has also been linked with reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease, gallstones, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Bottom Line: For healthy adults, having two or three cups of joe daily generally isn’t harmful and it may have health perks.

“I wouldn’t recommend drinking coffee to prevent disease,” says Hu. Exceeding one’s caffeine tolerance—which varies—can cause irritability, headache and insomnia. (Signs you might be overconsuming: Yelling at co-workers. Watching infomercials at 2 a.m.) The temporary rise in heart rate and blood pressure could cause problems for people with heart disease, and new moms should be aware that caffeine passes into breast milk. Hu has no plans to change his own two-cup-a-day habit. “For most people who enjoy coffee, there’s no reason to cut back.