Jewish Tradition and Coffee Culture

Written by Lori Thiessen

Now I’m not part of the Jewish Community but I do know that some foods are considered kosher (ritually clean to eat) and others are not. I didn’t know that coffee was on the non-kosher list.

I’m not quite sure exactly what puts coffee on the non-kosher list (part of it could be that there is no rabbi to inspect it and bless it, but I’m just guessing here), however, members of the Jewish Community love their coffee as much as anyone.

Ezra and Mashie Feintuch decided that their Jewish community in Toronto should be given their very own kosher coffee shop. Ezra approached Second Cup about opening a kosher franchise of the chain, and his idea was warmly welcomed (Canadian Jewish News Oct 18, 2007). Second Cup was not unaware of the idea of a kosher coffee shop because in the late 1990’s, the chain opened up a shop in the heart of Jerusalem’s tourist district. But Second Cup is the first franchise to have a fully kosher coffee shop in North America and the Feintuchs are at the helm.

The coffee shop’s hours will observe Shabbat and all other Jewish holidays.

Coffee is not something new to Jewish culture. In fact, in an article by Norma Baumel Joseph (Canadian Jewish News Oct 19, 2006), she says that coffee is much discussed in rabbinic law. Like the Sufis who are documented as being the first people to brew coffee, 17^th and 18th^th century Jews also used coffee to help them stay awake during their more intense religious observances. But there were questions about the item itself and how it was prepared. Was it a food? Was it a medicine? Was it kosher?

Coffeehouses were also looked at askance by Jewish leaders because these were places where Jews and non-Jews could mingle. This mingling could lead to all sorts of trouble. In fact, Christian authorities and local policing authorities had their doubts about the coffeehouse as a safe public place. If people were imbibing a stimulant, the party could go on forever and get pretty rowdy, creating a public safety problem.

But all the concerns seemed to be answered by now. Coffee is a safe, sober drink and if prepared according to Jewish dietary laws, it’s kosher too. So I’ll raise my cyber mug of coffee to you — L’Chayim!

Until next time,

May your coffee always be freshly brewed!

A Cup of Coffee A Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

Written by Lori Thiessen

When coffee was first marketed to late 17^th century English potential consumers, it was touted as a healthy elixir guaranteed to cure or prevent everything from headaches, consumption, coughs, dropsy, gout, scurvy, scrofula, miscarriages, diseases of the spleen, gas and other digestive problems to nervous disorders.

Sound like a likely story?

Modern medicine has taken another look at coffee and found that these early claims may contain some proof of the efficacious qualities of the black brew. There have been some reports that coffee will, indeed, help you with your gout. Some studies have shown early indications that coffee will reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes, memory loss in women, as well as lowering your risk of heart disease and some cancers. In fact, drinking moderate amounts of coffee daily (2-5 cups) can help you with your nervous disorders (e.g. depression). But some studies are showing that some people handle coffee better than others.

But before you get too excited about ordering a double shot espresso, be advised that the medical community is still mulling over the information. The Harvard Medical School released news that coffee is okay in small doses over the entire day. The ill effects of coffee like nervousness, heart palpitations, and increased blood pressure comes from drinking gallons of the stuff.

So go ahead and have that cup of coffee just be sure to have an apple with it too!

Until Next Time,

May your coffee always be freshly brewed!

Some Grounds of Coffeehouse History

Written by Lori Thiessen

Imagine you are a bright but poor young man in 18^th century London looking for information about what it would cost to insure the cargo on a ship bound from the West Indies. Or, perhaps you want to learn French but you can’t go to university or Frances for that matter. Maybe you fancy listening to some new music but you can’t afford the cost of a concert. Looking for work in the great Metropolis? Where would you go?

For all of these things, a bright young man would go to a coffeehouse. It served at the hub of networking and information exchange. At one point, there were approximately 500 registered coffeehouses in London. Each coffeehouse catered to a different social or economic group. To find the information you needed just go to the appropriate coffeehouse.

It’s a bit like how we use the internet today, only today we can set up our laptops in one coffeehouse and have the information flow through the Wifi to our screens.

The coffee itself was quite nasty by some contemporary accounts, so it wasn’t the brew that was important to coffeehouse customers it was the “extras” that the coffeehouse provided, like a place outside the rowdy pub to talk with friends about serious issues, a place to meet new and interesting people or make those all so critical networking connections for work. It was the 18^th century’s public living room, rec room, and newspaperstand-cum-library.

Though the modern day coffee shop hasn’t quite got the same rep of its distant relative, today’s coffee shop doesn’t just brew coffee. It is a place to socialize, to work out of, and to be entertained by musicians among other things.

Yet hang onto your thumb drives, kids, ‘cos, the coffee shop of today might be giving the coffeehouse of 18^th England a run for its money as THE place to be in our modern metropolises.

Until next time,

May your coffee always be freshly brewed!