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Coffee

Coffee (qahwa in Arabic, a term also used to refer to wine) reached us via the Arab and Ottoman worlds. From the highlands of Abyssinia, where coffee cultivation is documented as early as the 12th century, coffee crossed the Red Sea to be first cultivated along the coast of “Happy Arabia” (present-day Yemen) and then in the tropical climates of the territories of the great colonial empires beginning in the 17th century. Called the “devil’s drink” because of the black color of its grounds—in which people believed they could read the future—coffee was at times discredited by doctors for its harmful effects on health (it was considered an unnatural and addictive beverage).

Today, coffee is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world after water, but it still competes with tea.

The Mucem’s extensive collections related to coffee illustrate the various ways this beverage has been prepared and consumed since the 18th century, both at home and in public spaces. They also highlight how cafés have become places of social interaction.
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Roasting

The coffee plant, a shrub native to Central Africa, produces cherries that must be pulped and dried before they can be roasted (that is, heated) to produce the prized, fragrant black beans. The roasting process is crucial—whether done industrially or at home—to achieve a distinctive flavor. The beans are then ground to prepare the beverage. Each method of preparing coffee requires a specific grind—fine or extra-fine—achieved either by hand with a mortar and pestle or using a grinder.

Peugeot coffee grinder, Doubs, France, first half of the 20th century, wood and metal D2012.1.399

Coffee Grinders

The Mucem has coffee grinders made of wood, ceramic, or metal, produced by small French workshops since the 17th century (in Lorraine, the Saint-Étienne region, etc.), as well as industrial models such as the coffee grinder patented by Peugeot in the mid-19th century. These grinders, which were sometimes also used as spice grinders and could be used by herbalists, operate in a variety of ways: hand-cranked or electric, designed for stationary or wall-mounted use, cylindrical or cubic in shape, and sometimes made from a single piece of wood in the case of older artisanal models; they originate from Europe and the Mediterranean region. Their diversity is such that one can easily understand the passion that drives their collectors—the “molafabophiles” or “mylokaphéphiles.”

Inn-style filter coffee pot, Vienne, France, second half of the 19th century, brass, Mucem 1971.3.1

Preparation

There are many ways to prepare coffee: decoction, in which the coffee is boiled; infusion; and percolation, with or without pressure. The various coffee makers—from the copper Bedouin model to the espresso machine, from Du Belloy’s filter coffee maker patented around 1800 to the enameled iron coffee pot—bear witness to the diverse inventions developed to bring out the flavor of coffee.

All of these designs can be found in our homes, and their forms endure across time and space—such as this “Made in China” measuring device for brewing coffee by decoction, used in the Paris region to make Turkish coffee but derived from the cezves used in the former Ottoman Empire.

The method of preparing coffee by decoction (in which finely ground coffee is brought to a boil three times) requires using containers of increasing size depending on the number of guests sharing the same cup of coffee, to which sugar is added during preparation. This method is used to prepare coffee for one, two, three, or four people who all share the same preference for coffee—whether unsweetened, moderately sweetened, or very sweetened.

Sugar hammer, Morocco, 20th century, Mucem 2003.8.14

The coffee set

The tradition of serving coffee originated in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople. Poured directly from the cezve or sometimes decanted into the ibrik (a pitcher modeled after European teapots, coffee pots, or hot chocolate pots), coffee was initially served in earthenware cups from Iznik or Kütaya, or in porcelain from China or Europe—cups without handles and shaped like small egg cups. To avoid burning one’s fingers, the cup was placed in a zarf, a small, ornate metal stand (made of silver, copper, or tombac, an alloy of copper and zinc).

In France, where Louis XV was a great coffee lover, the coffee pots and coffee sets used by the aristocracy were made of silver, gold, or porcelain, and the cups had handles modeled after those used for drinking wine.

Magnificent coffee sets were commissioned by great monarchs, such as the vermeil and porcelain coffee set given by Louis XV to Queen Marie Leczinska to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin. Nowadays, coffee is served in earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain cups for special occasions, and sometimes in glasses or mazagrans.

Wine-tasting cup or tastevin, Puy-de-Dôme, France, circa 1663, silver, Mucem 1901.1.852

While some people add sugar to their “petit noir,” Oriental-style coffee has sugar—either powdered or in small chunks of sugar loaf—added to it at the very moment it is prepared. In Western Europe, on the other hand, as early as the late 17th century among the aristocracy, it was common for coffee to be served with sugar, milk, or cream added just before drinking.

But for today’s coffee lover, the pleasure lies in drinking coffee from the white earthenware cup at a bistro—which keeps the coffee at the ideal temperature for a few moments—or from a small clear glass, so they can also appreciate its color.

M. Cecchini, Sketch of the interior of Café l’Ami Butte in Montmartre, Paris, 1995, Mucem ph.2007.21.20

Cafés: Places for Socializing

You can drink coffee at home, on the street, or in your car—but of course, at a café. The first permanent establishments serving freshly brewed coffee are documented in Mecca, Cairo, and Istanbul in the 16th century, and then in the 17th century in Venice, Vienna, Paris, London, and Marseille. Some of these cafés, often opened by Armenians, Lebanese, or Syrians, are still in business today: Le Procope in Paris (founded in 1689), Le Florian in Venice (founded in 1720), and Le Demel in Vienna (founded in 1786). People would come to drink coffee alone or in groups to exchange and share ideas, play cards or dominoes, listen to music or stories, or read the newspaper…

Cafés, which have become true hubs of social interaction and conviviality, dot both the urban and rural landscapes. In rural areas, coffee as a beverage became more widespread after World War I (1914–1918), and in certain rural regions of North Africa, such as Kabylie, coffee did not become part of everyday life until the 1950s.

Acquisition campaigns centered on the themes of commerce and coffee have enriched the Mucem’s collections with café signs and storefronts, as well as 1930s furniture from a Montmartre café, L’Ami Butte, located halfway up Montmartre Hill. The names of these cafés are sometimes wordplays (Le Zanzibar, Le Bar à Quai, Le Malabar…).

Apple-flavored hookah tobacco, Cairo, Egypt, 21st century, Mucem 2008.102.5

Drinking coffee is often accompanied by another ritual: smoking tobacco. This can take the form of a pipe, a cigar, or a cigarette, but also includes inhaling tobacco vapor through a hookah, following the customs of the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The café is a place dedicated to games and gambling, but also to music—by inserting a coin into the scopitone, the predecessor of the jukebox. The café plays a role in spreading political ideas (through circles and clubs) and, in every neighborhood, brings together patrons based on shared interests.

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