There were a few other colonial monoculture crops. Chocolate,
which was drunk by the Aztecs and taken up enthusiastically by the
Spanish nobles, was the perfect drink for lazy courtiers whose ideal
in life was not to be great businessmen, but to inherit wealth, live
off rents, and never lift a fi nger. Chocolate relaxes you and makes
you fat, so it is maybe not a surprise that it became the drink of
choice in Spain. However, in Protestant Northern Europe, where making money is
the name of the game, you have to be alert, wired, and able to stay
awake for long hours to watch after your investments. It’s maybe
not surprising that coffee dominates there. In the 17th century,
coffeehouses opened across Europe, especially in London. These
were places where people went to socialize, hash out business
deals, and draw up contracts. Why tea replaced coffee in England is just a matter of politics. The
English had been buying tea in China and wanted to protect the
trade of the East India Company, so they lowered the tariff on tea to
practically nothing and raised it on coffee. The English didn’t have
coffee plantations, so they promoted tea. Later, the British fi gured
out that they could grow tea in India, which then became the major
supplier to the empire of fermented black teas.Cowan, Social Life of Coffee.
Gold, Danish Cookbooks.
Norton, Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures.
Pendergast, Uncommon Grounds.
Schivelbusch, Tastes of Paradise.
Suggested Reading