Why Do We Drink Coffee? It Was Once Illegal

Why do we drink coffee? The usual answer starts with a goat. The real story starts with people trying to stay awake, and rulers trying to make them stop talking. Coffee was put on trial in Mecca, banned in Istanbul and targeted by the King of England. Then it crossed the ocean to Saint-Domingue, Brazil and Colombia. From Sufi night prayers to the office coffee break: the small print of the world's favorite drink. Sources [1], [2]… below. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Billions of cups, and a crime 0:45 The goat story (and what's real) 1:59 Coffee on trial in Mecca 2:54 London's penny universities 3:52 The King vs. the coffeehouses 4:46 Across the ocean: Haiti, Brazil, Colombia 7:03 1929: Brazil burns its coffee 7:53 The coffee belt today 8:27 The twist: the coffee break 9:06 So, why do we drink coffee? 📚 SOURCES [1] ICO, Coffee Market Report, Nov 2024 — https://ico.org [2] Popular Science — https://www.popsci.com/health/coffee-... [3] A. F. Nairon, De saluberrima potione cahue, Rome, 1671 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaldi [4] R. Hattox, Coffee and Coffeehouses (1985) — https://muslimheritage.com/coffee-rou... [5] Nehlig et al., Brain Research Reviews, 1992 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1356551/ [6] Medievalists.net, 2025 — https://www.medievalists.net/2025/09/... [7] Atlas Obscura — https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles... [8] Historic UK — https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK... [9] Insurance Museum — https://insurance.museum/fuelled-by-c... [10] Le Procope — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Procope [11] Folger Library, Women's Petition (1674) — https://catalog.folger.edu/record/133671 [12] Royal Museums Greenwich — https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/obj... [13] De Clieu, 1774 letter — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_... [14] R. Marquese, CSSH — https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa... [15] Modern Farmer, 2013 — https://modernfarmer.com/2013/08/old-... [16] Coffee production in Brazil — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_... [17] T. Holloway, Immigrants on the Land (1980) [18] Convênio de Taubaté, 1906 — https://www.infoescola.com/historia/c... [19] Café de Colombia — https://cafedecolombia.com/the-histor... [20] Forbes Colombia, 2025 — https://forbes.co/2025/07/03/actualid... [21] John Adams to Abigail Adams, 6 July 1774 — https://founders.archives.gov/documen... [22] Daily Coffee News, 2021 — https://dailycoffeenews.com/2021/09/2... [23] Swiss National Museum — https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/201... [24] Viet Nam News, 2026 — https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/178125... [25] USDA FAS — https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/coffee-... [26] Barry Popik — https://barrypopik.com/blog/coffee_break 🎞️ CREDITS Films (public domain): Time for Coffee, This is Coffee! (1961), Coffee Break, Brazil: South American Medley (1948), The Silent War (1945) — Prelinger Archives; Voice of America (2012). "Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Roasting Ceremony": Keria T, CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... "Sugar falling into coffee": Anselm Schüler, CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... "PC090346 coffee Bahar Dahr Ethiopia": Zheim, CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... "Lloyd's Building - Escalators fisheye": Colin, CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... "Saint Dominican Slave Revolt 1791": unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... Wellcome Collection engravings, CC BY 4.0 — https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... · https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... Other paintings, prints, photos and maps: public domain. Sepia etching illustrations were created with AI; some prints and paintings were given subtle motion with AI. AI narration. 🎵 MUSIC "Hidden Past", "Desert City", "Pippin the Hunchback", "Heavy Heart", "Bossa Antigua", "Hep Cats" — Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Sound effects: BigSoundBank, Freesound (CC0). [f] Footnotery: the surprising stories behind the things everybody knows. History's small print. Instagram:   / footnotery.tv   Business: footnotery@gmail.com #Coffee #History #CoffeeHistory