Thinking Beyond Science

Arabs began to brew coffee six hundred years ago, and the first European coffee shop opened its doors in Oxford, England, in 1652 when Isaac Newton was ten years old. The cause of the Enlightenment may have been the Copernican revolution and the Protestant Reformation, but coffee was its daily fuel.

In England, coffeehouses developed a unique culture, far different from that of taverns. In coffeehouses, a penny would buy a table for the day, with entrance permitted to anyone with good clothes. Instead of inebriated revelry, or morose self-reflection, coffeehouses stimulated energetic talk and debate. Books and newspapers were available there, and many people used coffeehouses as their postal addresses. Newton frequented the Grecian (where he was seen to dissect a dolphin);

John Dryden held forth at Will’s. Much later, Adam Smith finished The Wealth of Nations at the British Coffee House (Cockspur Street) that was a London hangout for Scottish thinkers. Joseph Addison, Alexander Pope, and Jonathan Swift held forth at Buttons.

In England, tea eventually replaced coffee as the daytime beverage of choice. London coffeehouses gradually disappeared, morphing into private clubs, restaurants, and businesses. Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse became Lloyds of London and Jonathan’s coffeehouse in “Change Alley” became the London Stock Exchange, where runners are still called “waiters.”

In the United States, history took a different course. The Boston Tea Party, the Revolution, and the War of 1812 interrupted trade in tea, reviving interest in coffee. Americans found in coffee an inexpensive tea substitute that could be drunk in quantity. By 1820, the transition was complete, and the United States became the largest market for coffee in the world.

In the early twentieth century, an alternative to the original Ethiopian coffee tree (arabica) was found in the Congo the robusta coffee plant.

The robusta plant grew faster, was more disease resistant, was easier to harvest, and contained more caffeine. It also had a harsher, less mellow taste. But mixing robusta with arabica took off much of the harsh edge, especially if you added sugar and cream. The new inexpensive bean was the key to supercharging the growing American coffee habit. Instant coffee was the final step in the path that took American coffee-drinking practices a great distance from their European origins.

While Americans were developing robusta and instant coffee, Italian Luigi Bezzera invented the espresso machine (1901). This device made a cup of coffee by passing hot steam through a charge of ground-roasted coffee beans. The reaction of the steam and the coffee produced a rich, almost syrupy, beverage. The theory was that the quick brewing time prevented the extraction of bitter coffee oils and reduced the amount of caffeine. A small porcelain cup of Italian espresso has a brown foamy crema on its surface, which fades within a minute. The crema layer traps aromatics and volatile flavors. The drink could not be easily prepared at home as it needed high-pressure steam and expensive equipment and was quite labor intensive. Italian espresso bars became popular places for a quick pick-me-up and urban social interaction.

Source – Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard P. Rumelt

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11721966-good-strategy-bad-strategy