Yes, but nowhere is it implied that it is because of something inherent to coffee. It probably could have been another delicious drink, like hot chocolate. That doesn't diminish the content of this article though.
It didn't have to do with the "gathering to enjoy a beverage" (whether coffee or whatever else it could be in its places) either. There were dozens of forces at play to the dissolution of the Ottoman empire. Coffee was hardly any major factor.
First such cities didn't have any lack of places to socialize (and potentially conspire), for milenia before coffee houses.
Second, the same things (nation building, empire dissolutions, revolutions) happened all around Europe and shortly all around the world from the 18th to 20th century, whether they had a coffeehouse culture or not.
The thing with coffee isn't that it's delicious. It's actually quite hard to make it palatable.
But coffee is (1) addictive, and (2) induces wakefulness and action.
I've seen loose theories that coffee was the real reason for the Industrial Revolution. It's not hard to imagine the extra energy it produces to also go into political efforts.
> The thing with coffee isn't that it's delicious. It's actually quite hard to make it palatable
This is like saying it's hard to make chocolate, tea, or many other ultra-popular foods/drinks palatable.
Step 1 of 1: add sweetener. Not hard at all.
Many people (including me) would argue that coffee is delicious without sweetener, though. Perhaps you don't understand how people like it, but that's far from a universal opinion.
That's funny, I've heard that tea was a potential contributor. The theory goes that the health benefits of drinking tea allowed our British cities to grow larger without disease spreading. This meant more people congregating in one place, which allowed a greater exchange of ideas. Something along those lines.
coldtea|6 years ago
First such cities didn't have any lack of places to socialize (and potentially conspire), for milenia before coffee houses.
Second, the same things (nation building, empire dissolutions, revolutions) happened all around Europe and shortly all around the world from the 18th to 20th century, whether they had a coffeehouse culture or not.
BurningFrog|6 years ago
But coffee is (1) addictive, and (2) induces wakefulness and action.
I've seen loose theories that coffee was the real reason for the Industrial Revolution. It's not hard to imagine the extra energy it produces to also go into political efforts.
smt88|6 years ago
This is like saying it's hard to make chocolate, tea, or many other ultra-popular foods/drinks palatable.
Step 1 of 1: add sweetener. Not hard at all.
Many people (including me) would argue that coffee is delicious without sweetener, though. Perhaps you don't understand how people like it, but that's far from a universal opinion.
Digit-Al|6 years ago
sjg007|6 years ago