Sunday's Just One Coffee, Si'l Vous Plait

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Sunday's Just One Coffee, Si'l Vous Plait

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Sunday's over and as always, I like to end it in a light note with an almost pointless focus and this week I shall touch on some scalding cafe-noir. Apart from chocolates and red-hot spicy food, coffee is probably my other deficit weakness, but surely it doesn't hurt so much compared to a lot other decadent little devils?

And the lot of us who are coffee-dependants, what better way to start the day with an aromatic steaming cup of coffee.

But "drinking" this bitter drink is getting a little too complicated for a Sunday lounger like me. Coffee has suddenly become this modish, stylish beverage which I think is getting too chic in its quest to suit our modern lifestyle.

For something that used to be so simple, I can stand agape in front of the endless list of coffee menu for some name-calling inspiration. "Hey you, twsited double frappymocha coconut!" And with so many infusions, it's a wonder the drink is still called coffee.

And in addition, cafes are no more just into coffee selling -- there are so many new cafes are sprouting up every other day like mushrooms after the rain, it's really is unbelievable to watch a show of business survival in a perfect competition.

When has coffee become so complicated? The history of this dark drink is simple enough originating from Arabia and as far as Ethiopia. The arabs called it "Qahwa" which was at one time the word used for "wine".

But the arabs later customarily used the term qahwa to describe the black drink made from berries of the coffee tree. And as the drink kept them awake and alert during their nightly meditations, they replaced wine with the black drink in many religious ceremonies (in a bid to avoid getting intoxicated).

So in time they honoured the drink with the name they had originally given to wine. The west received the drink by changing qahwa to an easier pronouncement of coffee.

While a cup of coffee may be cheap now, but back in 1683, one pound of coffee in New York was worth as much as 4 acres of land. And coffee was actually slow to catch on (compared to chocolates and tea) but during the 17th century, the first cofee house was opened in London.

These coffee houses were then known as "penny universities" because anyone could come in and learn about coffee while sipping the bitter concoction for only 1 cent.

It was even said that London Stock Exchange even developed from one of these coffee houses.

And in the modern time interestingly enough, caffeine is actually on the International Olympic's Committee list of prohibited substances.

If an athlete test positve for more than 12 micrograms of caffeine per milimeter of urine, they may be banned from the olympic games. (And that equals to 5 cups of coffee thank you).

While I'm not sure where this post has led me to, which is just how I like my coffee - sporadically mysterious. With so many new choices going on, I'm sticking to my simple cup of hot coffee, make it black and hold the fancies. Ah, yes the world is round again - at least for the next precious caffeinated hours. :)