Paris, Coffee, and Vices

A short anecdote on the history of Paris' coffeehouses has left me in a state of reflection. The amount of things one fine bean is capable of doing to humanity is mesmerizing. Coffee's impact in our civilization belongs in the same category as alcohol and herbal spices, and our behavior under its consumption has been the focus of constant speculations about the true purpose of its use ever since we started figuring out the basic chemical components of its composition.

The first item that jumped my attention was the place of origin of the man who brought the coffeehouse to the capital of France. His name was Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, an Italian immigrant who set up a small shop in one of Paris' busiest streets. Upon receiving this information my mind immediately went to a scene of The Sopranos where characters Paulie and Big Pussy (yes, that's his name) are in the line of a coffee shop ranting about the cultural appropriation of coffee in America under the feeling that coffee was original the Italian's idea. I can only imagine how much they'd rant if they ever found out the city most known for its wide collection of coffeeshops started the tradition thanks to work of an Italian immigrant. While I'm sure the fact that coffee originated in Italy is most likely not true, I found the anecdote too amusing not to highlight.

As I continued reading, my thoughts shifted to a more encompassing idea on how vices have shaped societies and cultures more than we have ever given them credit for. The scope of Paris' coffee consumption was made abundantly clear when the astronomical number of 40,000 coffeehouses were present in the city at their highest peak. Coffee was the law of the land; practically every citizen of high importance was finding its way to spend a great deal of his time engaging in its consumption.

But what exactly drove the Parisians to this inherent vice? All signs point towards an innate desire to maintain a social standing amongst themselves. Paris was a fast and industrialised city that required inner machinations working to perfection for its success. Any little glitch in the machine meant dire consequences to the entire fabric of the culture. I'm sure you can well imagine how this amount of stress would put many members of society in dire need of some form of consolation; looking for some form of solace in the midst of the chaos was the only logical step to take. They found the outing with the consumption of the mighty charcoal-like bean.

In the book Paris: The Biography of a City author Colin Jones vividly outlines the main reason for Paris' fascination for coffee as such:

If coffee endured and established itself as an item of absolute necessity in the life of most Parisians, this was substantially because it was associated with a new form of sociability which made its consumption a pleasurable and collective activity - a mixture of coffee and conversation… What really marked them out in Nemeitz's [ Famous Dutchman visiting the city] eyes was the fact that people loved listening to conversations on the affairs of the day. The coffee-house had become a forum for the bourgeois public voice. (188–189)

What was originally a substance used to find a quick fix soon began to transform into the very driving force of the city. It provided more than just productivity. The increasing popularity of the coffeeshops signified an innate impulse to spend more time in leisure enjoying the atmosphere and conversation. Painters and poets along with politicians and academics began to frequent these establishments more often than not. This routine turned the shops into the center of discussion, providing a direct impact in the way business transactions and new ideas are made.

Artwork by Franck-Boston | Getty ImagesThe results were mixed; while the increase in coffeeshops in Paris coincided with a period of economic, industrial, and creative prosperity, it also saw the outbreak of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Seeing as how truth always seems stranger than fiction it wouldn't shock me if these new developments were fueled in some indirect way external forces such as coffee the same way alcohol was/is always present in the minds of those who committ/ed atrocities such as pillaging, rape, and firing squad executions. The history of food products tells us more about ourselves as a species than practically thousands of years of philosophical and scientific dissertations.

The purpose of coffee in Paris was for rest and comradery. These two simple actions brought about an entire structure that would go on to influence the way business, politics, debates, and other activities are approached. Frankly I find the whole idea that our behavior is dictated by what we find at our disposal to be such an absurd yet simplistic answer to questions concerning ourselves that the choice to laugh is a natural one. I suppose this is the idea that begins to make me wonder who is actually in charge of the whole situation, and the more I see that chance is the only inherent answer the more I start to accept how everything is an experiment at the expense of those who don't have the resources.

I find the idea of a city fascinating. Every little member serves as a cog for a greater mean. Cities are civilization's status symbol. The more unique, sophisticated, and old a city is the more it provides a place for people to find a center where making a difference means you will be remembered in its history. Look at the American empire and its relationship with New York. The British with London. The Romans with Rome. And the French with Paris. If an idea or object was ever used or highlighted to such a degree that it found its way into a city's history then it is most worthy of attention. Coffee being such a prevalent force in Parisian culture is another indicator of how mankind finds a way to solve a problem and create new ones in the process. Examples like this have always been helpful in making us understand what was really going on. It allows for the veil to be dropped and absolute truth to be revealed.