Intro
Coffee. In a previous life I drank twenty (20) or thirty (30) cups a day.
I can't abide the smell of coffee brewing or otherwise readying for consumption, so I mostly drink instant Nestlé Clasico that comes in several varieties aimed at different sectors of the Latinx market. Please make my coffee with any meal black and unsweetened. Coffee as a standalone snack? Creamy, sweet, and flavored. Whipped cream on top is a major plus.
Nowadays I enjoy about 6 ounces of super strong unsweetened black coffee with breakfast every day; my only additional coffee happens about one afternoon each week with a sweet creamy specialty drink from a place like The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or Starbucks or Boba Time.
And like Andrew's Sylvia I love coffee ice cream. Especially the kind we got in New England. A few times the now defunct Brigham's ice cream emporia had mocha chip and mocha ripple; that chocolate-coffee fusion is one of my favorites.
I've heard coffee first made inroads in the Western world as an antidepressant. Some people feel better after a cup of coffee. Is it the caffeine content, is it the deliciousness, is it a short time apart from everything else? Some people avoid coffee and they don't drink black or green tea because they identify as highly sensitive to caffeine. I know one person who admitted she quit drinking coffee because the acids got to her gut and her mood; she replaced the coffee with caffeine intensive tea.
Many churches have a coffee hour after or between Sunday services. There's church coffee time, and there's a tradition of friends and acquaintances gathering at Coffee Shops for conversation and snacks—for human and gustatory sustenance. Many eating places designated Coffee Shop have a full bill of fare to satisfy any time of day and any appetite. Tea or a smoothie? Right here. Sandwich, salad, soup, or an entrée? We offer that.
When my PCUSA interim pastor mentioned he'd next be doing an interim pastorate at an ELCA, I told him "Lutherans have three sacraments: baptism; holy communion; coffee." Well, not quite, yet like water, grain, and fruit of the vine, coffee is a gift of creation. Like all of God's good gifts, the coffee plant brings us opportunities to connect with the Creator via coffee itself and via those with whom we savor a hot or cold cup or glass of java.
Theology types like myself in the traditions of the Reformation refer to the sacraments as means of grace because God meets and connects with us not directly, but using an intermediary like water or bread. Coffee in any of its presentations doesn't meet the criteria for a sacrament because gifts of creation need to be coupled with the Word of God to qualify as sacrament, yet many times coffee acts as a vehicle to bring God closer as it brings people closer to each other.
Outro
Johann Sebastian Bach composed reams of music for the church; he also wrote for his aristocratic sponsors and he wrote a secular cantata that's a sort of operetta. You can read his Coffee Cantata lyrics in English translation and in the original German.
Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Bach's Coffee Cantata. How did you find that?
unique twist to the idea of coffee, well done. FMF10
ReplyDelete