With a cup of coffee come joys and sorrows

“A cup of coffee tastes mellower than a thousand kisses and sweeter than Muscat wine.”A daughter turns a deaf ear to her father who says not to drink too much coffee. “If you keep drinking, I won’t let you get married,” the angry father threatens. Only then, the daughter begs, “I will stop drinking coffee right now. Please, let me get married.” When the father goes out to find a right man for his daughter, she puts up a poster, saying that anyone who wants to marry her should give her a freedom of drinking coffee. The Coffee Cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1732 tells a story of a lady who loves coffee.

While today`s Britain is well-known as a “country of black tea,” the 17th century`s Britain saw coffee houses mushroom up everywhere. Men used to drink until late and go to grab a cup of coffee for their hangover. In a male-centered culture of coffee house, marginalized females released a petition that opposed coffee, not alcohol, in 1674. Their whimsical argument that coffee makes men impotent encountered strong opposition by men who argued that it gave them powerful energy. It was a raging controversy back then, but there is no direct correlation between drinking coffee and men’s potency.

As Koreans’ dietary life has become more Westernized, more young people are replacing their breakfast with a convenient way of having a cup of coffee or a bowl of cereal. Famously-known for the cereal company named after his own name, Charles William Post made an aggressive advertisement that warned coffee as harmful drug and sold “Postum,” a healthful alternative to coffee. Even after the advisement, however, he was seen to have openly drunk coffee.

As an increasing number of people enjoy coffee in Korea, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has announced to increase one serving size of coffee from 100 ㎖ to 200 ㎖, twice the amount of coffee from vending machines. It, somehow, raises a question of whether the ministry has to decide such a thing. A host of coffee shops are springing up in streets and there are too many varieties of coffee to remember. As a two-male indie band, 10cm, sings in its song, you are advised to just go for “Americano” when you can’t decide what to drink because the menus are too complicated or you are broken after paying for monthly housing rent or looking for something after eating black noodle.

eligius@donga.com