Coffee And Coffeehouses Book

This is a fascinating book on the rise of coffee in the Middle East and its public acceptance and consumption, as reflected in the parallel emergence of coffee houses, that comes with an interesting twist. In detailing the rise of coffee in the late 15th/early 16th century in the Islamic Middle East, the author highlights an interesting aspect of its story: namely the legal wrangling over whether or not coffee is a mind altering drug in class with alcohol. Islamic scholars, as much as any drinker of coffee, appreciated its capacity to alter the mental state of its drinker. The question was, did such alteration constitute a detrimental effect to the extent that coffee should be identified as "khmer", in class with other alcoholic beverages? What followed was a legal back and forth that extended over a few decades, finally resolved both by common sense (coffee does not dull the senses) but equally significant by public pressure. Simply put, there was an intense need in the Islamic metropolises of the Middle East for a beverage that could be consumed in public in lieu of alcohol. Coffee houses became the social nexus where such consumption could take place. The author superbly outlines the various legal aspects, worthy of a case study in a law school. For this alone, and there is more to it, the book is highly recommended.