Free Coffee: The Epic of a Commodity by H.E. Jacob

which they greatly esteem. They call it ‘Chauve.’ It is almost as black as ink, and is a valuable remedy in disorders of the stomach. The custom is to drink it early in the morning, in public places, quite openly, out of earthenware or porcelain cups. They do not drink much at a time, and, having drunk, walk up and down for a little, before sitting down together in a circle. The beverage is made by adding to boiling water the fruit which they call ‘bunnu,’ which in size and colour resembles laurel berries, the kernel being hidden away between two thin lobes of fruit. The use of the drink is so general that there are many houses which make a practice of supplying it ready prepared; and also, in the bazaars, merchants who sell the fruit are plentiful.”
    An important thing to notice in this report is that Rauwolf mentions, besides the Arabic name of coffee, the Ethiopian name of the fruit, for his “bunnu” is obviously the same word as “bunc.” Indeed, Hübner’s encyclopædia, published in 1717 and one of the earliest works of the kind, actually informs us that the German word “Bohne,” bean, is derived from “bunc.” Of course this is absurd, for there is an old Teutonic root, “Baûna,” from which “Bohne” and bean are both derived.
    The next person in Europe to describe coffee was the remarkable man Prosper Albanus. Like an Italian of similar name, Pietro d’Abano, the medieval “sorcerer,” he was professor of botany in Padua. From the home of magic, from contemporary Egypt—which for many Europeans in 1592 was as magical a land as it had been for the Greeks of Homer’s day—Albanus compiled a herbal. Naturally he mentioned the “arbor bon,” “cum fructu suo buna.” This scholar writes: “In the pleasure-garden of a Turk, my distinguished friend Hali Bey, I saw a fine tree which produces grains of an ordinary aspect. They are called ‘bon’ or ‘ban.’ From this the Arabs and the Egyptians prepare a black beverage, which they drink instead of wine, and which, like wine in our own country, is sold in public-houses. They call it ‘caova.’ The beans of the ‘ban’ tree are imported from Arabia Felix. I have seen one of these trees, whose leaves are extremely thick, and have a strong lustre. It is an evergreen.”
    Prosper Albanus the botanist having said his say, Prosper Albanus the physician continues: “The Turks use the decoction from these beans to relieve ills of the stomach and to dispel constipation. They also find it most useful when the liver is congested or when they have pains in the splenic region. Nor can there be any doubt that ‘caova’ is a valuable remedy in inflammations of the womb. The women of Egypt drink a great deal of it, very hot, during menstruation, in small sips at a time, being especially inclined to use it when the menstrual flow is suppressed. This use of the remedy has been well tested; ‘caova’ purifies the body.”
    Bellus, the humanist, was the first to send coffee beans to Europe, doing this in the year 1596. The recipient was Clusius, the physician and botanist whose unlatinized name was Charles de Lécluse, who was instructed by Bellus to “roast the beans first over the fire, and then crush them in a wooden mortar.” De Lécluse, who was for many years resident in Vienna as director of the Imperial Gardens, and who spent the last days of his life in Holland, gave an account of coffee in two of his works: Rariorum plantarum historia and Exoticorum libri decem.
    The humanist Pietro della Valle set sail in 1614 upon an Oriental journey of which he gave an account in his letters, Viaggi in Turchia, Persia ed India descritti da lui medesimo in 54 lettere famigliari. Being rather deaf, he misheard the name “k’ahwah,” and always speaks of it as “cahne.” Writing from Constantinople in February, 1615, he reported: “The Turks consume a black beverage. During the summer they drink it to refresh and cool themselves, whereas in winter