Coffee and a soirée with La Madame de Pompadour

Society just loves an intrigue and coffee more than tea had a great impact upon social gatherings among the French aristocracy in the 18th century. Less candor and more tittle-tattle would become the difference between the age of Tea and the age of Coffee. But a few years before; a social gathering over a prized collection of tea would have sufficed as the civil thing to do in an age where social congregation was a very important part of the cultural life of the French nobility. Yet, the ceremony of tea would become replaced by the more exciting aromas of a decent brew of coffee. A social world would not be a world without surprise and with the new inspiration of coffee to swell the imaginations at the court of the French Kings, society would grow even more alive with attentive whispers at every corner. In such guise, we enter the social swirl of 18th century France and in particular the world of the French socialite Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, or La Marquise de Pompadour.

Madame de Pompadour at her dressing table - 1750  François Boucher

Born 29th December 1721 and died in 1764 her life was ever surrounded by controversy as the beautiful child quickly became the youthful paramour of Parisian society. Although her birth records in Paris state that her family was of bourgeois origins, the father being François Poisson and mother Madeleine de La Mott, society in pursuit of gossip, would often hint at a scandal even at birth with the assumption that the real father was none other than the rich financier Pâris de Montmartel. Known as Reinette or 'little queen' the young girl became an accomplished beauty with a precocious appetite for attracting men of great esteem. Moreover, at the age of 9 years, a fortune teller foretold that the little girl would one day reign over the heart of a king.

After an early convent upbringing, at the age of 19 years, the young Jeanne Antoinette married Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles, the rich nephew of her guardian. With this marriage, the young Madame d'Étiolless had two children, one of which died only a year after birth. Soon after the conception of her 2 children she founded her very own salon close to Paris in the south at Étiolles, where her social gatherings were graced by many intellectuals of the day such as the notorious coffee drinker and writer-philosopher Voltaire himself.

At the age of 24 years, in 1745 destiny would play it's role as fate would decree that the little beauty would meet the very King Louis XV that would fulfill the fortune teller's prediction. The King had already heard of her reputation as a beauty with her childish oval face and invited her to a masked ball known as the 'Yew Tree Ball' in 1745 in Paris. The French King was so over-whelmed by the beauty of La Reinette that as soon as she was presented formally at court to the King she was emphatically endowed with the Marquisate de Pompadour and by the King's own personal purchase and  provided with luscious apartments within the Versailles itself just so that the King could be near to the woman he loved so much. La Reinette had now effectively become the most powerful woman in all France and perhaps Europe as maitresse-en-titre to King of France Louis XV. Their relationship was deeply affectionate but as mistress to the French King her love could never find fulfillment due to several miscarriages. Eventually La Reinette married  and did have a daughter, Alexandrine, who was adored by the powerful French King Louis XV.

Madame de Pompadour as Diana - 1752 Jean Marc Nattier

In addition to her immense political influence by connection with the King, the Marquise de Pompadour is also largely remembered as a patron of the arts and literature in France. With her growing wealth came a series of property acquisitions such as houses and estate mansions like the Hotel d'Evreux which she renovated with such artistic flair that a style of interior decoration came into vogue as the 'Pompadour style' of interior design. She also became the patron of many aspiring artists such as painters, sculptors, and architects. The emphatic 'Pompadour style'  not only encompassed the arts and architecture but extended to every manner of personal attire from head pieces to cloth to strands as the women of her day would vie with each other to dress and emulate the styles of atttire that the Marquise de Pompadour would display at court and in public.

Madame de Pompadour -1755 Maurice Quentin de La Tour

 
Madam de Pompadour was one of the most influential ladies of the 18^th century France. Society was fascinated by her wit and charm. La Reinette very quickly became the most sought-after woman in Europe for the subject of portrait painting in her day. endowed with natural beauty and intellect such delicate balance and grace in her salon and soirée brought about great political, social and economic discourse. Coffee in the 18th century was by now becoming the beverage of choice at a social gathering. Unlike tea, coffee brought out the good-humored spirit required for a relaxing social conversation. Chocolate was also being introduced into the French court at this time particularly in royal banquets but was even more expensive as a commodity than coffee. Tea drinking at gatherings was the vogue of the 17th century. In the early 18th century coffee became more popular than tea but was still deemed a luxury commodity as it was sparsely cultivated and it's price beyond the reach of the common man. Moreover coffee had a great mystique about it and became associated in the French public imagination with exotic images of Cairo and Istanbul and the Turkish and Armenian cultures in particular. Wine drinking was inappropriate during the 18th century; thus the stimulation of the coffee beverage was deemed to be entirely delectable and appropriate for evening gatherings over music and discourse. Where the actual favor for coffee originated from can be traced to the trade routes that had opened up with the Venetian and Dutch traders and a growing interest in the Eastern cultures and grandiose lifestyles.

Madam de Pompadour - 1756 François Boucher

The Venetians having firmly established the trade routes with the Ottoman empire in the 16th century, the cultural exchange between the Venetian state and the Turkish culture led to an exchange of cultural ideas and the spread of Turkish culture to the educated elements of society in Western Europe. The arrival of the coffee beverage in Western Europe aroused a keen intellectual interest for  Ottoman culture and by the time of Madam de Pompadour in the 18th century that keen interest found its manner of expression in art through the depiction of European nobility in Turkish guises. The painting below by Charles Andre van Loo in 1752 is considered to be one of the first paintings in 18th century France demonstrating the cultural contact of French European civilization with that of North Africa with Madame de Pompadour dressed in Armenian guise being served by a maid of North African descent. The French aristocracy already set within an age of self-indulgence was now fully open to imbibe and embrace the new and exciting cultural imagery of exotic experiences as depicted in this imaginary scene below.

Madame de Pompadour as a Sultana being served coffee - 1752 Charles Andre van Loo

Coffee has already caught the imagination of King Louis XV who insisted that the coffee been be grown in the French colonies to serve the growing demand for the luxury commodity. Moreover, less than a decade after the death of the beloved French King coffee cultivation finally took it's successful root in the French colony of Martinique. During the evening soirées at Versailles arranged by Madame Pompadour, the King was insistent that decent coffee should be served as well as the finest wines and liqueurs that could be elegantly displayed in choice array upon the finest tables.

Drawing Room at Palace of Versailles where soirées would have been held.

In her final years as mistress to the King their friendship never waned but grew over the years. In fact, in speaking of Madame de Pompadour another notable mistress Marie Leszczyńska,  daughter of King Stanisław I of Poland, had even gone as far as saying "If there must be a mistress, better her than any other." Such was the adoration La Reinette received. King XV had remained a true friend through the years, and is even said to have personally brewed coffee for his little Reinette  in his private chambers in moments where the King could always share his confidence and listen attentively to the wisdom of the woman he adored but could never marry. 

Madame de Pompadour succumbed to tuberculosis and passed away in 1764 at the age of only 42 years.

Madame de Pompadour as Love and Friendship -
1758 Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Coffee and it's social history by Pieter Bergli

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of decent coffee and turn to: 

http://live-think-breathe-art.blogspot.com

and

https://www.pinterest.com/myartmusings/

Thank you.

The Healthy Benefits of Chewing Coffee Beans

Chewing The Humble Coffee Bean

In truth; the march of civilization took upon itself a far quicker step of progress after the discovery of the world's most popular beverage. Although today in our modern world we have come to accept coffee as part and parcel of our urban culture; did you know that apart from drinking the delicious brew, you may also try chewing the roasted coffee bean readily available in stores? But of course this makes sense; after all; originally back in Ethiopia and Yemen in the 8^th century AD herdsmen watched their goats chewing on the ripe coffee berry burgeoning under the warm sun. Noticing the quirky effects of coffee berry chewing on the goats soon enough the herdsmen came to start chewing the berry to enjoy the intoxicating effects that a burst of adrenaline can give you from a caffeine laden fruit. Not only that, in coming to understand that the dried berries in the sun, fallen on the ground, can be gathered and chewed upon, the herdsmen came to know different variations in taste between the ripe coffee berry and the sun dried berry. Further understanding was gained by herdsman sitting by their camp fires at night and attempting to dry the ripe coffee berry but instead finding out that they have dried it too much to the point of roasting and thereupon reach a new distinct flavor.

The healthy benefits of chewing coffee are plenty. Here are five reasons you should chew a coffee bean for 30 minutes a day and consider taking at least 1 cup per day in moderation.

In the first place the very act of chewing a food  like a coffee bean draws saliva from the mouth, which is highly alkaline and combative against acids, bacteria and plaque building up residues on the teeth. The caffeine enters the small capillaries in the gums and acts as a cleansing agent.

Secondly, the chemical substance known as  caffeine found within coffee beans counter-acts the production of the hormone adenosine, which is largely responsible for making a person feel sleepy, and in the delay of sleep makes the person feel more alert for periods of 1-2 hours after coffee consumption.

Thirdly, the consumption of coffee is known to increase the heart beat after a mere 10 minutes. The heart may increase it’s rate by about 10-15 beats for minute for periods of up to 1 hour, which is slightly equivalent to a good 30 minute stroll.

Fourthly, the coffee bean contain enzymes that are needed for increased stimulation of bowel contractions.  In such manner coffee coffee like tea, has a strong laxative effect to break down material and ease digestion. 

Fifthly, mental alertness is increased by stimulation of the senses by absorbing the caffeine in the coffee bean. Productivity at work increases which then increases the personal satisfaction and well being of the person. The consumption of coffee largely makes for a happy well-mannered person which is far more rewarding  for the employer than to maintain a disgruntled and unhappy worker.

Reflections on the coffee beans by Pieter Bergli, cafe enthusiast!

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of coffee and turn to: 

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Thank you.

A decent cup of coffee with Ludwig and the 5th

Give me a mere 60 beans in a day and I shall be

content! Else how may I arrive at the Holy Grail of the consummate coffee brew?

There is a thin line between the definitions of genius and madness; and sometimes the creativity of the Divinely-inspired has crossed over that dividing threshold to arrive at the supreme insights expressed through art, music and science. Stark raving lunatic or born of Divine origins the maestro himself defined his very life and own creations over nothing less than the very highest quality brew of coffee! How else could the human genius be inspired? The hallmark of humanity is tinged with the colors of emotions. Take that away and you can throw away more than half the achievements of the Industrial Revolution to the Modern age. A cup and nothing but the cup! A roasted brew decidedly inspired much of the genius of the arts and the sciences. Inspiration needs to come from somewhere. Some may see a silver lining in a cloud; others may sit beneath laden trees waiting for a summer fruit to fall. That flash of insight and understanding can only come through acute concentration and alertness of senses. Thus the cry for a decent cup of coffee to instill and infuse the mind to higher planes of intellectualism. Indeed the maestro himself was acutely aware of this need for a fuel to drive the engine of his unscathed thoughts across the universe. Ludwig van Beethoven loved his concocted brews. He was a driven man to the point of near insanity some may say. Yet in his constant desire for perfection and the search of ever new heights of emotion he dared to tread where no creator would tread; to scale the mind in the exploration of the musical chord that resonates closest to the human soul.

A cup, a mug, a brew and contentment. It's time to listen to the amazing range of sound in the creations of Ludwig. The colors in the video below represent the different scale of notes. Indeed, Ludwig could exclaim - We have lived no ordinary life; and altogether we have drunk no ordinary brew of coffee bean!

Beethoven's 5th Symphony 1st Movement:

Reflections on the world of decent brew of coffee by Pieter Bergli, a confessed cafe enthusiast!

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of coffee and turn to: 

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and

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Thank you.

A Decent Brew of Coffee, the Hogarths and some Latin Prose!

My, my, my! A cup of coffee in the hand and a declination of mensa, mensam, mensae? Has the world gone stark-raving mad? Not quite at all; on the contrary, some elements of society may have welcomed the idea of Latin prose and a cup of coffee many years ago in 18th century Britain. Certainly that's how Richard Hogarth came to see it. How odd but how decidedly civil to have a cup of coffee and a few lessons in Latin! The 18th century must have been wondrously illuminated to have concocted a mode of flamboyant pleasure in union with a Latin recitation. After all Latin was the language that founded an Empire that became the basis for modern Europe. Of course, there aren't too many of us today that could still recite in full breath a discourse in Oratia Oblque without too many tears. Gone are the days when a schoolboy could recite Oratio In L. Catalinam Prima albeit with closed eyes lest his master should turn round and clap him one on the head for terrible pronunciation! But actually in the 18th century, the reinvigorating spirits of Classicism  was part of the life and culture of the day just about the same time as the culture of coffee drinking was becoming established.

The Painter and his Pug (W. Hogarth Self-portrait) 1745.

William Hogarth, the famous English painter, engraver and social caricaturist, b. 1697 d.1764 was highly regarded as a man of poignant wit and sarcasm, who grew up under the great influence of his father's early Latin-coffee experiment and the overall coffee drinking culture of the Golden Age of 18th century Britain. The London coffee house culture was now well established in Great Britain for rich and poor alike. Houses of social gatherings and a cafe were now the rage in all the four corners of London. In contrast to the rowdy and bawdy taverns that descended into disrepute, men of intellect, aspiration and genteel breeding, often flocked to these coffee-drinking establishments for an elevated conversation on the issues of the day.  Particularly in London, under the new guise of a constitutional monarchy and an atmosphere of political liberalism, the 18th century became the Golden Age as men of culture and learning sought to engage and share and debate ideas over cups of coffee. London was fast becoming the center of the cultural world of Europe to compete with Paris. Foreign travelers arriving became amazed at the booming excitement of the coffee house culture. From gentry habituating establishments in Mayfair to St. James, to cobblers and blacksmiths and all sorts of tradesmen from Covent Garden, political issues of the day were discussed with great enthusiasm. Indeed a visiting Swiss gentleman, César de Saussure, in 1726 described the London coffee scene among the working classes where a, “…workmen habitually begin the day by going to coffee-rooms to read the latest news.”

An 18th Century London Coffee House

As the story goes, young William was born to a certain Richard Hogarth and one Anne Givens, and perhaps out of wedlock too, where the father would not make his mark upon the world with anything more exciting than the role of a Latin tutor, and indeed, Latin tutors of the age did not earn anything more interesting than a threadbare wage at that. Life was hard for the Hogarth's. Not entirely daunted and bereft of spirit, the father Richard did make one valiant attempt at establishing a coffee house in Clerkenwell in London. The reign of King William and Mary has often been described in terms of the gateway to Modern Britain; for during this reign of political liberalism the coffee houses thrived and all manners of discourse became tolerable. Richard Hogarth was an outsider. The tutor could not afford to live in the more affluent parts of town. However, he was able to fortify his spirit and tackle with the sordid squalor and the bars of London around the Smithfield's area. Thus did Richard Hogarth come up with the bright idea of yet another coffee house; albeit with a different flavor.

In 1703 Richard Hogarth took out an advertisement in a specialized newsletter called the Post-Man which had it's circulation all round the London coffee houses. It read as follows:

`At Hogarth's Coffee House in St John's Gate, the mid-way between Smithfield Bars and Clerkenwel, there will meet daily some learned gentlemen, who speak Latin readily, where any Gentleman that is either skilled in that Language, or desirous to perfect himself in speaking thereof will be welcome. The Master of the House, in the absence of others, being always ready to entertain Gentlemen in the Latin Tongue."

Latin prose was the core of education for a gentleman in the 18th century. With the regeneration of Neoclassical ideas in literature and art and architecture a new Golden Age of Britain was to be seen with it's mercantile expansion around the globe. As with the works of famed architect Inigo Jones, a new order could only be built by grasping the old with a thorough grounding of the principles of a former empire and the universal tongue. Latin and looking to the past was surely a prerequisite for success and looking ahead for the aspiring gentleman in the modern world.

Noble in vision; impractical at it's best; the idea floundered. That one should hope cobblers and tinkers and chimney sweeps of the East End of London should come to terms with some Latin verse would have required a vast stretch of imagination. Rather the Clerkenwell scene descended into a ridiculous misnomer. As one Ned Ward' described: 'Some going, some coming, some scribbling, some talking, some drinking, others jangling, and the whole room stinking of tobacco like a Dutch barge or a boatswain's cabin'.

Beer Street and Gin Lane - William Hogarth 1751

The plan did not go well indeed. Of course coffee houses were the rage of the day nevertheless Richard Hogarth's venture was not a success at all. Drinking coffee and enjoying a good conversation does wonders for the spirit needless to say. But try enjoy a cup of coffee at a poetry club entirely dedicated to the recitation of Latin literature when the most frequent customers are drunken sailors, cobblers and butchers, then one may put into perspective the reasons why the Hogarth venture did not quite go down very well. Consumers of the day around the Clerkenwell area preferred a more animated and topical conversation! Talk about prostitutes or fist fights and wrestling and all kinds of bawdy topics but do not talk about the poetry of Ovid please.

The Four Times of Day - William Hogarth 1736

With a penchant for all things Latin one may see through the concept and marvel at the bravado and creativity of the true entrepreneur in Richard Hogarth. But it was a story of the right idea in the wrong setting: location, location, location! Latin prose has a remarkable architectural quality to be admired. Yet, the old adage that a 'customer is king' rings true today as it did yesterday. Quite simply put; customers brought up on the rigors of a classical education did not need to be reminded of the tedium of their schoolboy days. The marketing concept was flawed. Moreover; the venture perished no sooner it was conceived!

Cicero

"0 fortunatam natam me consule Romam"  once wrote the Consul Marcus Tullius Cicero in what has often been described as the worst line ever written in Latin poetry on top of a very poor choice in siding with the republicans that assassinated Julius Caesar; and a line that may well have been quoted with relish in the lessons of Richard Hogarth in the vain attempts to educate the masses to a more cultured side of coffee drinking.

In reality; society did not care. Why on earth would one try to teach Latin to someone born for a vocational trade? William Hogarth, the son and great caricaturist, thus summed up the perfect indifference of the coffee drinking gentry to the working classes and thus effecting the great social divide even among the habits of consuming the most popular beverage.

The Bench - William Hogarth 1758

And so ...


Reflections on the world of coffee by Pieter Bergli, a confessed cafe enthusiast!

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of coffee and turn to: 

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and

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Thank you.

Coffee and the Spirit of Music; Cello Suite by Bach

Dear Readers,

If a cup of coffee is the liquid soul whose substance identifies with the innermost core of your being then the welcome ambiance of a coffee house becomes the enchanting background to sooth the mind and lift the spirit in search of a moment of elevated peace. Whether alone or among friends a warm cup of coffee becomes heartily appreciated.

Inner silence can only be found when a person has become one with the harmonics of the environment. Gazing through the window and watching the rain, listening to the splatter of raindrops on the window-sill and the sounds of nature, one may find contentment and harmony whilst mulling over an enticing coffee aroma; or by simply closing one's eyes and listening to a musical composition, be it a gentle piece of jazz, or a classical violin sound; the mind drifts and reaches a level of harmony with the environment and obtain a moment of peace that can be well appreciated.

This is a wonderful piece I would like to share with you over a decent cup of coffee and some light conversational banter. It is a composition by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach b.1685 d.1750 entitled Cello Suite No 1, 1st movement.  The delightful piece below doubtless due to the creative inspiration over a cup of coffee as Bach was a legendary coffee drinker himself. Please allow yourself the indulgence of a moment to let the piece play repetitively in a loop, until your coffee consumption has complete.

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of coffee and turn to: 

http://live-think-breathe-art.blogspot.com

and

https://www.pinterest.com/myartmusings/

Thank you.

yours sincerely

Pieter Bergli - Coffee narrator and collector

1950's Advertising and the Instant Cafe Experience

The 1950's is a very important period in advertising because of the arrival of the television in the average household. This period in the modern history of advertising becomes the watershed that takes the visualization of the consumer to a whole new level. The arrival of television became the perfect medium of expression for instant coffee brands from Nescafe to Maxwell House.

What is about the 1950's and their advertising?  Well, with the appearance of television in households advertisers soon realized the perfect medium for advertising instant coffee though it had been around some 40 years already. Without further ado and convolution we now have an advertising medium that can bring us exactly to the point. It's absolutely great stuff; and precisely to the point. No more yards and yards of ripping yarns and yawning statements. With the birth of television in the 1950's advertising of coffee products can now make that quantum leap in the consumer's mind.

Prior to the appearance of the television commercials we had the newspaper advertisements and billboards and wall posters and even radio that would seem to convey the message that a decent cup of instant coffee can help the consumer find some energy and some inspiration.

Exhibit 1

Ok "You can sleep when you are dead". Seems like a pretty bold statement for 1950's cutting edge advertisers trying to sell a cup of instant coffee. The advertisement certainly makes us aware that a coffee drinker doesn't need to sleep at all and that coffee prolongs the pleasure in life by prolonging the amount of hours awake. Thus the conclusion in the form of advertising in exhibit 1 is that coffee gives you that extra zing that makes you go that extra mile to go through your working day.  So these advertisers must have spent hours and hours of research to come up with this slogan that differentiates the human mind from the active and non-active state. Indeed!

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 2 could only sum up naive 1950's advertising with a beaming smile and graceful innocence. Yes it is a stupid thing to fall in love as the movies of the age would endlessly portray. Indeed; more than half the world's stupidities have been created from acts of mindless passion and coffee seems to become the source of that inspiration. But then again, who cares for stupidity; we learn as we go along? Take a  moment and have a cup of coffee and experience a new state of mind akin to the power of the universal Big Bang! Just ask Helen and Paris if the coffee berry secret had been found during the days at Troy.

Exhibit 3 seems to be a bit more disturbing that Exhibit 2 but is added to the list of presentation that a decent cup of coffee can really activate the mind because indeed the advert is extremely disturbing proof that a decent cup of coffee can drive the mind into all sorts of states of emotion other than mundane inertia!

Exhibit 4

Exhibit 4 is definitely and overtly sexist. That's the 1950's for you; a cup of coffee bringing out the caveman mentality of the domestic husband not to mention the blatant demonstration of domestic violence! Much left to be desired; but that's early paper print advertising for you.

?With the appearance of television  advertises soon began to realize that whilst the family was glued to the television set sitcom the moment of commercial break every 15 minutes was the only real opportunity to convey the message that an instant cafe was a pretty good idea indeed! With barely 10 minutes of break time advertisers played upon the idea that making a cup of coffee was faster than brewing a cup of tea. Thus between the running up and down from living room to kitchen and back makers like Nestle began to pour upon the consumer the idea of making an instant coffee during the commercial break time.

 Here is an original 1950's Folgers television advertisement for instant coffee.

Here is a vintage 1950's Maxwell House commercial for instant coffee.

Here is a vintage 1950's Nestle commercial for instant coffee.

Needless to say in an age which was adorned by the heroes and heroins of the silver-screen; from the Marlon Brando's and the Charlton Heston's to the Sophia Loren's and Audrey Hepburn's, the consumption of instant coffee was fast becoming a most fashionable pursuit. by 1952 already in the United States some 17% of all coffee consumption was through the consumption of instant coffee and by the end of the 1950's after the influence of television and an array of celebrity drinking portrayals in Great Britain the amount of instant coffee consumed became a staggering 90% of the entire coffee market! Away with the percolator!

Iconic JFK takes a moment with an instant coffee

From the United States to Great Britain and across to Japan, the modern world had arrived with the demands for faster consumer satisfaction and in this new need of the consumer television played an enormous part in it's advertising. from politicians to actors to the average household wife; instant coffee through television advertising created an instant appeal across such a diverse area of society. Rich and poor alike could now enjoy a decent brew in a matter of minutes. The art of coffee making was now transformed. Folgers and Maxwell House came to change the landscape of the US coffee market in the 1950's as much as Nestle came to dominate Europe, and the rest is history as they would say!


Reflections on instant cafe by Pieter Bergli, a confessed cafe enthusiast!

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of coffee and turn to: 

http://live-think-breathe-art.blogspot.com

and

https://www.pinterest.com/myartmusings/

Thank you.

A Cafe State of Mind

We all have a need for a regular spot or safe haven to which we can retreat in those dark moments where nothing but a decent cup of coffee can alleviate the nerves and release the tension of the day. Often stressed and highly sprung, most of us urban dwellers seek refuge at a bar or a cafe in search of a welcoming ambiance that could bring light back to the dreary day.

Since the drinking of coffee is usually done at a table with the express function of relieving tension and soothing the nerves of the consumer; one would suppose that there would be a distinct combination of ingredients that would ultimately lead to the general satisfaction of the consumer.

Let's try mull over the number of ingredients that could contribute to the overall pleasure of the coffee consumer.

Firstly, ambiance, ambiance, ambiance. One is not going to find anything but melancholy and remorse should one choose to engage in solitary silent conversation whilst staring out at bleak railway yards, industrial parks and faceless brick buildings in deplorable colors of hospital green or muddy brown and depressing grey. On the contrary, the coffee consumer once to feel enthused and just as relaxed as plonking down on a sofa cushion and then sinking in slowly with a general level of placidity and comfort whilst surrounded by light and vibrant colors that dually serve to enrich and soothe the mind of the consumer.

Elegant French cafe

Secondly, sounds. Yes, that's it; one cannot sit and sip a decent cup of coffee when there are factory horns bellowing in the background, or the mostly sound of machinery and workmen or even to the contrary; complete and utterly deafening modes of vacuum-sucking, soul-enveloping silence. We need out creature comforts to relax the body but equally we need to coax the mind into that enjoyable state of grace derived from a decent cup of coffee. The average coffee consumer needs his and her creature comforts and must head the delectable sounds of soft music to rhythmically lullaby the nerves into a complementing state of peaceful bliss.

Music is the balm of the soul

Thirdly, things that are alive. This peculiar ingredient could be separated into two distinct classes itself:  subsection 'A': things that spread color around the room like potted plants and flowers that grow up the wall and entice the coffee consumer into a feeling of harmony with a natural habitat that is at once man made and yet becomingly alive at the very same time; and subsection 'B': things which are also really alive and I do mean literally alive, like the odd furry creatures we see that have become the rage now in Tokyo where customers are asked to sit down at a table or a sofa and engage a conversation with an odd cat or two; well, sometimes more, and indeed cats do make good listeners if the whole point of the experience is for the coffee consumer to just sit there and spill his or her heart out and feel jolly good about it because after all unlike psychiatrists that we pay to just sit there and doze off, cats do just doze off anyway oblivious to all manners of brightly colored papers and the odd human prattling and so yes, cats and birds make a wonderful addition to the lively theme of a pleasant cafe! show us the way Tokyo!

Courtesy Lalaine

Fourthly, people. Love them or hate them we still need to feel a sense of belonging to our social group and for those that seek to get away from it all subconsciously we still feel the urge to see one or tow other customers in the cafe besides ourselves. A cafe in utter silence is as isolationist and disorientating as being trapped in the Surreal landscape of a Dali painting! One sincerely hopes that a cafe ambiance can be enlivened with a few customers here and there and not just the odd mannequin in the corner or card-board cut out of human figures pretending to drink their cup of coffee. this is a cafe for heaven's sake; not a morgue! a cafe needs some sort of human conversation to blend in with the ambient and soft background music; not too loud but barely perceptible, like a city hum to gently remind the cafe consumer that humanity is only a mere stone throw away.

That's Fred

Fifthly and finally, the coffee table itself and the sort of books we just love to flick through whilst our minds are wondering aimlessly about. Wilds scenes of isolation; clouds rolling across vast natural landscapes and all sorts of photography with images of anywhere but a concrete jungle would do very nicely indeed to relax the consumer whilst he engages his or her cup of coffee. Books loaded with art are definitely a bonus and material concerning the natural habitat and wildlife are very welcome indeed. Of course tables themselves can be very artistic creations as well as entirely functional offering a place to put your cup of coffee; but should space be available in abundance then the large the coffee table the better particularly since the suitability of space can afford a convenient residence for a few inspiring coffee table books.

The art of cheering up coffee consumers

Find me a decent cafe and find me a new life with refreshed vitality for one more day with a welcome cafe state of mind. The more coffee that people consume the more likely we are able to spot a happy, smiling face set against the urban throng of stressed-out office workers scurrying to and fro in the perennial race against that clock on the wall.

Reflections on urban cafes by Pieter Bergli, cafe enthusiast!

For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of coffee and turn to: 

http://live-think-breathe-art.blogspot.com

and

https://www.pinterest.com/myartmusings/

Thank you.

Lord Byron, a Rebellious Spirit, Philosophy and a cup of Coffee.

“Coffee, according to the women of Denmark, is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul.” .... Byron, Don Juan. 

The trait of a genius can bear fruit in many form of expression; particularly amongst those who passionately consume the world's most popular beverage, namely; coffee. That the poet Byron was amongst those literati was not by accident nor design as the poet himself would put it. With a brew at hand some men forge their own paths by sheer power of will. In like fashion, Byron shaped his destiny by the sheer force of his rebellious personality. The writer Byron shall ever be remembered as one of those literary consummates that dared to pen words to verse at the inspiration of several rounds of coffee. Ever the center of attention; ever the self-indulgent role model, the new romantic arch-type hero; was Byron himself. In Byron's own words:

"I want a hero: an uncommon want,
When every year and month sends forth a new one,
Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant,
The age discovers he is not the true one;" .... Byron, Don Juan.

 Portrait of the young Lord Byron c.1837 Painted by Henry Pierce Bone - Courtesy Christies.

George Gordon Byron was born on the 22nd January 1788, the son of  Captain John "Mad Jack" Byron, a British army officer of the Coldstream Guards, and his second wife, the former Catherine Gordon. To understand the complicated life of the great poet and writer George Gordon Byron then one must understand the circumstances of his birth and the life of his profligate father "Mad Jack" Byron. Captain John Byron was the grandson of William Byron, 4th Baron Byron of Rochdale. In 1778 he had eloped with Amelia Osborne, the Marchioness of Carmarthen, daughter of Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, and married at the time to  Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds. The elopement created a scandal of the day. Together they fled to Europe and  after she obtained a divorce from Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds they then returned to London and  married on 1 June 1779. The couple had one daughter, born on the 26 January 1783, Augusta Maria Byron, but the mother Amelia Osborne died soon after in 1784. John Byron then quickly married a Scottish heiress by the name of Catherine Gordon on 12th May 1785 and changed his surname to Gordon so that he may inherit his wife's large fortune and estate. Catherine Gordon became mother to George Gordon Byron on the 22nd January 1788 but quickly her husband had wasted her fortune and then deserted her and the infant. Catherine Gordon then took her child to Aberdeen and lived in modest circumstances. John Byron then died in 1791 at the age of 35 years in France.

At the age of 10 years George Gordon Byron inherited the English Barony of Byron of Rochdale, to become the 6th Baron Byron, a peerage created in 1643 for the first baron, Sir John Byron who had served King Charles I in the English Civil War, 1642-1647, and was a Royalist supporter as a member of Parliament. The young Byron entered school in Aberdeen and quickly learned to deal with his deformity having been born with one 'club foot' and standing up to the taunts of bullies. He also became ill-disciplined and poor in academia due to his constant mother's interference with his education. The seeds of rebellion were thus early sown. In 1801 the child Byron entered Harrow School near London, founded in 1572 as a school for children of men of means, and where he remained in education until the year 1805. It was at Harrow School where the first inklings of inspiration grew to bloom in later life in the writings of his famous work Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Byron was not noted for academic prowess whislt at Harrow school but he was remembered as a sporty young man and cricketer. In October 1805 Byron entered Trinity College Cambridge at the age of 17 years and as a young man. At Trinity the young Byron learned to resent authority having being told off to rid him self of his pet bull dog. Byron, confident in his own authority would not let men's minds trample over his own. He then retaliated against his masters by taking the confrontation to a whole new level as he escalated their tension. Byron then purchased a tame bear which he would walk around the grounds of Trinity College much to the amusement of fellow students and passers-by.  In confrontation Byron learned to fight back against the stamp of authority upon his civil liberties. It was at Trinity that the young Byron quickly grasped the power of his personality. Byron quickly resented the rigidity of character of his elders and learned to stand his ground of principles with a fervent passion. Socializing, drinking spirits and coffees in copious quantities, gambling and literary debate became the spirit of his Cambridge days. Just as importantly, the company of young men and women at the age of 17 years created the first stirrings of real romance and a rapid confusion over his sexuality. Byron soon came to be attracted to men just as much as he was fond of the company of young women. At Cambridge Byron developed an affection for a singing scholar John Edleston but the romance quickly ended when the scholar lost his scholarship and left.

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, by Richard Westall before 1836

Byron at Cambridge was the young man with cropped hair combed to the front in such a handsome manner that young ladies in society soon became enamored of the young man wherever he would visit in the evenings for social engagements. By the age of 18 Byron was gaining a significant weight problem and to tackle this issue Byron resorted to eating potatoes pickled in vinegar and tea and coffee. So obsessed with his own weight issue Byron even resorted to wear several layers of thick wool to induce sweating when he was alone in his rooms. Byron at Cambridge was always going to be the center of attention and self described "child of passion and the fool of fame".

In 1807 whilst still at Cambridge Byron published his first work 'Hours of Idleness' which subsequently received a scathing attack in the Edinburgh Review.

In 1808, on 4 July, Byron received his A. M. degree from Cambridge and then decamped to Newstead Abbey the home of his descendants tp launch a scathing retaliation of the Edinburgh Review in the form of his writing 'English bards and Scotch Reviewers'. 

With ample time on his hands Byron would then decide to follow the course that every young English nobleman would wont to do; to take the grand Tour of Europe. Byron was reckless to say the least; his own mother fearing his creditors hid in Newstead Abbey for the sake of peace and quiet from clamoring collectors. Byron's own mother once quipped that her son possessed a "reckless disregard for money". Thus on 2 July 1809 Byron embarked upon the 'Grand Tour' as every young noble man would do but in this particular year with the ongoing conflict with Napoleon, Byron was forced to cut short the Grand Tour and spend most of the time around the Mediterranean.  From England he crossed to Portugal leavinh England via the port of Falmouth on 2 July 1809, and then on to Spain and Malta, Albania and finally reaching Greece by December 1809. It was whilst in Albania where he came into contact with Islam and became deeply impressed with Sufism. Byron spend the whole of 1810 absorbing Greek and Turkish cultures but also commenced his writings for his famous work 'Childe Harold's  Pilgrimage'.

In 1810 Byron visited Istanbul where he came to acquire a taste for' sharbaat'  (a fruit juice extract mixed with sugar and cold water). The word itself is Arabic in origin and literally means 'sweet'. Upon Byron's visit to Istanbul, being a lover of tea and coffee to help him reduce his consumption of food, he also discovered that both tea and coffee were served in Turkey as very sweet and were also described as being 'sharbaat'. Byron made a lot of friends in Turkey and later on wrote a lot of poems with a Turkish theme; more so than upon any Greek subject as a matter in fact. Byron returns to England in 1811 on 14 July only to experience the loss of his mother in the same year.

In 1812 Byron finally won critical acclaim for his first major publication: 'Childe Harold's  Pilgrimage', Cantos I and II. The publication was an instant success. The lengthy narrative poem describes a young man, Childe Harold, disillusioned with life and weary of the Napoleonic Wars. Moody and outcast from society, the Byronic hero contemplates life and the world and becomes disenchanted on his travels.

In Canto I he writes:

"And now Childe Harold was sore sick at heart,
And from his fellow bacchanals would flee;
'Tis said, at times the sullen tear would start,
But Pride congeal'd the drop within his ee;
Apart he stalk'd in joyless reverie,                   
And from his native land resolv'd to go,
And visit scorching climes beyond the sea;
With pleasure drugg'd, he almost long'd for woe,
And e'en for change of scene would seek the shades below".

And again in Canto III he writes:

"Among them, but not of them; in a shroud   
 Of thoughts which were not their thoughts".

Against the world and the world against him; the character was already cast in stone from the memories of childhood rebellion to his contempt of authoritarian rule at Cambridge.

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage - Italy 1832 JMW Turner. Tate Gallery.

In the same year 1812, in London, at the age of 24 years, Lord Byron delivered his first speech to the House of Lords at Parliament whilst debating the Frame breaking Act. Unforgettably, not more than a week after his maiden speech Byron wrote to a friend  that “I spoke very violent  sentences with a sort of modest impudence, abused everything and everybody, put the Lord Chancellor very much out of humor, and if I may believe what I hear, have not lost any character in the experiment”.

Whilst in London Byron was a sensation. Young, enigmatic, out-spoken and controversial whether with the gentleman or without; the hero was the talk of the town. In a reminiscence of Lord Byron's profile appearing in the New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal issue, January 1, 1827, Byron was described as a frequenter of the Drury Lane plays in the year 1812. At a diner party at one Mr Murray's residence in Albemarle Street, Central London, in 1812, after diner and after-diner coffee had been completed, Byron was noted as commenting to guests that "To be thin nothing is to be done without it; no man of genius was ever fat!" which explains his predilection for extreme dieting. Byron also went on to say "When I was at school at Harrow...I was as fat as Lord Sligo ...  This disgraceful infirmity I afterwards determined to get rid of. accordingly, when I quitted school and came to town (London), I got some dresses of  flannel to envelope me from head to foot. Thus dressed I stood at the wicket while my servants bowled to me, two or three hours in the day (playing cricket)". Asked if the weight loss scheme actually worked Byron replied: "partly, but not entirely. I was put to profuse perspirations but was not reduced as I expected. I therefore determined to effect the rest by starvation. You observed what I ate for dinner today. Well, this is Saturday. I shall not eat again until Monday."

1812 not only became a social success for Lord Byron; it also became a year of flirtacious habit and multiple scandals the most prominent being the affair with Lady Caroline Lamb, who was already married and with an autistic son, another affair with the countess of Oxford and yet another affair with Lady Webster. 

In January 1813 Byron publishes the 'Giaour' and the 'Bride of Abydos'. However, deeply involved with controversy and debts accumulating, Lord Byron, the center of attention of London society would plunge into an even more ambiguous relationship that would never escape the young poet. In 1813 Byron met with his half-sister Augusta Leigh for the first time and was capitvated by her. Almost immediately watching eyes could not fail to notice their mutual attraction and rumors of incest began to swirl through society; true or not. But the implication was not entirely unfounded as in 1814 Augusta Leigh gave birth to a daughter, Medora, for whom the father was not recorded. In yet another act of self-centered gain, Byron then married a rich heiress by the name of Annabella Milbanke, the only child of Sir Ralph Milbanke, 6th Baronet. They married on 2nd January 1815 and their daughter Ada was born in the same year in December 1815. However, Byron's continued fascination with his half-sister Augusta as well as with a stream of young ladies made his wife Annabella deeply unhappy. Considering her husband insane Annabella walked out on Byron with her daughter and filed for divorce. Early 1816, Byron published the 'Siege of Corinth'. But the separation with wife was by now complete. The divorce proceedings were seen as a confirmation of Byron's incest with Augusta Leigh and Byron was forced to leave England on 24 April 1816 amidst a growing swirl of scandalous gossip and pressing financial debts. Unknown to Byron this would be the last time he would be seen on English shores.

In 1816 Byron settled near Lake Geneva in Switzerland where he met another acclaimed young English poet; Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley, and Claire Clairmont. Thereafter in the same year Byron traveled down towards Venice where he came to settle. The favorite cafe that Byron habituated was cafe Florian where he would seek to meet local gentry and engage in intelligent conversations. Byron was also a regular visitor at cafe Quadri where the composer Wagner once brooded. Whilst in Venice perchance Byron became enthused and fascinated with Armenian culture when he visited the abbots of San Lazzaro degli Armeni at Venice. At Venice, with the help of Father H. Avgerian, Byron soon learned the Armenian language. In 1817, 12 January, Claire Clairmont gave birth to a daughter named Allegra to which Byron owned that he was indeed the father. Byron has finally sold Newstead Abbey in 1817 and by June that year, 'Manfred' is published.

Byron then visited Rome where he visited the famous cafe Greco which was also a meeting place of such famous writers as Goethe, Wagner and Anatole France and many other distinguished European gentlemen who had visited Rome as part of the Grand Tour in their youth. Upon returning to Venice Byron finished the 4th canto Chile Harold and also wrote the first five cantos of Don Juan between 1818 and 1820. In Venice by 1919 it is rumored that Byron had slept with as many as 250 women! However, finally, in 1919 in Ravenna, Byron found a beautiful young lady and married the young Italian aristocrat, the countess, Teresa Guiccioli.

In 1820 Byron is living in the Guiccioli Palace at Venice and his daughter Allegra is invited to come live with him but who tragically dies in April 1822 at the age of 5 years old.

Whilst in Venice Byron received his friend Percy Bysshe Shelley who also came down from Lake Geneva. In letters Shelley portrays Byron's daily life as follows:   "Lord Byron gets up at two. I get up, quite contrary to my usual custom … at 12. After breakfast we sit talking till six. From six to eight we gallop through the pine forest which divide Ravenna from the sea; we then come home and dine, and sit up gossiping till six in the morning. I don’t suppose this will kill me in a week or fortnight, but I shall not try it longer. Lord B.’s establishment consists, besides servants, of ten horses, eight enormous dogs, three monkeys, five cats, an eagle, a crow, and a falcon; and all these, except the horses, walk about the house, which every now and then resounds with their unarbitrated quarrels, as if they were the masters of it…". In 1821 - 1822 Byron Finished Cantos 6 -12 of his masterpiece Don Juan.  Don Juan was presented as a lover of coffee and in Canto 9 Byron writes several coffee drinking references of the genius of the hero Don Juan as thus:

 "Well—Juan, after bathing in the sea,
 Came always back to coffee and Haidee".

and again

" 'T is pity wine should be so deleterious,
     For tea and coffee leave us much more serious"

His friend the English poet Shelley was fond of the sea and thus rented a small house near the sea near La Spezia. However, on the  8 July 1822 the poet Shelley was drowned in an unfortunate boating accident whilst at sea as his vessel headed into a squall.

The Funeral of Shelley by Louis Édouard Fournier (1889); pictured in the center are

from left to right: Trelawny, Hunt and Byron.

In 1823 Byron was becoming bored with life in Genoa and increasingly irked by the tyranny of the oppressive Ottoman Empire in a land he would instantly recognize as the mother of all civil liberties; Hellas herself. Representatives of Greece were making please for support in Italy and Byron thus aroused could not contain his despair for the lost liberty of Greece and thus enthusiastically embraced the cause for Her emancipation.

Lord Byron in Albanian dress 1835 by Thomas Phillips

In 1823 Byron chartered a vessel by the name of Hercules and on the 16th July Byron set forth from the port of Genoa to arrive at the Ionian island of Kefalonia on 4th August. Byron refitted the vessel and then set sail for the Western Greek coast and landed at Missolonghi on 29th December 123. Upon meeting the Greek politician Alexandros Mavrokordatos at Missolonghi they jointly agreed to raise a force to attack the Ottoman held fortress of Lepanto, at the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth. Byron did not possess any military experience but assumed command of part of the rebel force to attack Lepanto. But before the military expedition could set sail for Lepanto on the 15th February 1824 Byron fell ill with a flu. His doctors may have used unsterilized needles when they attempted to blood-let the patient as was the fashion of the time. Byron subsequently took on a fever, most likely from contracting sepsis and died in Missolonghi on 19th April 1824 unable to take a single part in his vision of liberating Greece from the Ottoman Empire. The death of Byron shocked the public at home in Great Britain and the Greeks mourned the loss of a hero although he did not see any military conflict. According to some reports the body had it's heart removed before embalming to keep the spirit of Byron on Greek soil. Upon return to great Britain, Westminster Abey refused permission to bury Byron as an English hero on the grounds of his scandalous relationships and concern for public morality. Byron was buried at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire and a marble slab was laid above the grave as a gift from the King of Greece in return for his sacrifice for the Greek Nation.

Coffee and it's social history by Pieter Bergli

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