Bersten, I.
Sydney: Hellian Books, 1999
Is coffee really harmful? What does carbolic
acid have to do with coffee? How does 'humour' relate to coffee?
Why did the 'Maidens of London' blame coffee for their lack
of virility in 1663? How does coffee relate to sex and masturbation?
And is it a coincidence that detractors of coffee are in the
burgeoning business of selling coffee substitutes? From the
earliest days of medicine, doctors have come to many unsound
conclusions relating to tea and coffee. Ignorance continued
to dominate thinking about these beverages until the beginning
of the 19th century when caffeine was discovered and chemically
defined and then incorrectly classified as a narcotic. In
tracing the history of anti-coffee crusaders, Ian Bersten
has uncovered bizarre theories based in sexual paradigms from
the first health reform movements. The inventor of Homeopathy,
Samuel Hahnemann, wrote against coffee in the 19th century.
His ideas and the similar ideas of health reformers in the
United States were the forces, which kept the case against
coffee in the public eye. They thought that drinking coffee
led to excitement, which led to sex and masturbation. The
chief opposition came from one of the most influential health
fanatics, John Harvey Kellogg. Their followers, right to the
present time, still oppose coffee in spite of scientific evidence
relating to its effects.