Coffee Spies and True Crime
Episode Notes
This is your coffee podcast. The one you didn't know you needed but will be your newest obsession. Coffee is the new black. Let me give you the dark roast first. Tell new about your first cup?
Is coffee just a vehicle to gather and connect? Are you really meeting up for the coffee, or the chance to talk to your friend? To lend a hand to someone that needs to chat.
Dating? Swipe right for that coffee date! It's less of a commitment, right?! Doesn't imply dinner and...
What about coffee culture? Why are Europeans so into their coffee and make fun of our American coffee?
Do you listen to Spotify playlists designed for coffee shop moments?
How to brew the best espresso?Conversations with baristas and the little coffee shops we adore.
What about brunch? Espresso martinis have risen to the tasks of bloody Mary and mimosas!
How about dessert? Tiramisu, chocolates, bourbon, beer, so many yummy places to find it.
Caffeine for performance? Adaptogens and mushrooms, CBD and THC, Bulletproof, collagen powder, protein powders.
What are you adding to your coffee? Is it your only intake for autophagy? Talking to you intermittent fasting warriors.
Drink it for clarity, focus, pick me up, socializing, get ready, you need this new addiction. Coffee is brewed for connection and I want you here with me Holly Shannon.
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Transcript
Holly Shannon 0:05 Hello coffee lovers, in between interviews on why we need to meet up over coffee. I'll share short episodes that delve into all things coffee, think of them as a shot of espresso. Now, here's your Coffee Culture short. I found this really, really cute, this really great article. So I wanted all my coffee lovers around me to hear this and the article is called Old Time farm crime, the coffee spies of the 1700s. It was written by Andrew ama links in modern farmer. And so here we go. Enjoy your coffee break. Coffee, Java, Joe, whatever you call it. That ubiquitous brew that jumpstarts your morning was once the center of international intrigue. It's believed the shrub was first cultivated. legend holds that called D A ninth century goat herder discovered the shrubs power after seeing his flock become energetic when they nibbled on its berries. I don't know about you, but I, I pretty much feel like I see goats doing backflips right now, the story is apocryphal and doesn't appear to have been written down until close to 700 years later. Regardless, coffees cultivation spread northeast from ancient Ethiopia to the Arabian principal Peninsula. By the 1600s, coffee consumption was wildly popular in Europe and coffee houses started springing up in London, Paris, Amsterdam and elsewhere, and becoming important cultural, political, and financial centers that helped transform the continent. I have an episode actually, that you can catch that talks about cafes then and then and now and I'll put that in the show notes. So where is the potential for making money and when that is available and one upping your rivals, there will surely be an attempt at cornering the market. At the time, the Arabs had coffee cultivation tied up and the Europeans wanted a piece of the action. It was up to their spies to try and get the high powered plant into their hands and into the ground in their various colonies. The Dutch were the first of the superpowers whose spies successfully stole aviable plant in 1616 from Mocha, the bustling port city and center of coffee trading in Yemen. Unfortunately, these spies names have been seemingly lost in history. Easy to understand, since we are talking about secret missions here. And of course social media didn't, wasn't around then. Can't hide anything. Now. Luckily, there were two swash buckling, undercover coffee agents that we do know of thanks to good old fashioned self promotion. Captain Matthew Gabrielle Deke loo of France, and Lieutenant Colonel Francesco Francisco, de Mello Palika of Portugal helped their nations achieve a foothold in the fight to become coffee producers. First up, the Frenchman Matthew Gabrielle declared in 1723, to clue was a naval officer, serving as captain of infantry at Martinique. While on leave in Paris, he was struck by the idea that his island home would be the perfect place to cultivate coffee. The French King Louie the 15th had recently received a coffee plant from the burger Meester can believe this word of Amsterdam, and it was ensconced in the Royal Garden, now known as the Jardins. A plant in Paris. There are two versions of how diku gained possession of a coffee plant. The first involves a daring and nighttime raid on the royal garden after dequeue failed to receive the king's permission to take a plant back to Martinique. The more reliable but alas, less romantic version involves the intercession of a noblewoman who apparently had something on the royal physician Pierre Schrock and coerced him to swipe a cutting of the coveted plant for NYCLU. Regardless of how the captain got this very valuable plant. The journey back to Martin niq was an adventure in itself. According to declare who in the letter to the ANA lit today, a literary and scientific periodical, he was forced to share his scanty ration of water With the coffee plant upon which my happiest hopes were founded, and which was the source of my delight, quote, unquote, on top of the lack of water for declares coffee plant, and the jealous interlopers ripping off branches for the seedling, his, his ship was at was nearly captured by Tunisian pirates and was menaced by a violent storm. So crazy. He also had to fight off another passenger on the ship who quote unquote, basically jealous of the joy I was about to taste through being in service to my country, and being unable to get this coffee plant away from me tore off a branch. Even more safely back on the island. The captain had to continue his vigilance. I feared many times that it would be taken from me and I was at last obliged to surround it with thornbush bushes and to establish a guard about it until it arrived at maturity. He also was menaced by a violent storm. Sorry, I want to I missed a little bit here, but nevertheless, the captain's instinct about the island's climate being well suited to coffee cultivation was cracked. He soon had about two pounds of coffee seed that he distributed across the island. From there, the crop grew almost exponentially, replacing the island's previous cash crop of cocoa. By 1777, there were close to 19 million coffee trees in Martinique. According to one historian. It should be noted that while several sources say Declan was the first to bring coffee cultivation to the West Indies, and there's evidence that while he may have been the first to bring it to Martinique, the plant had already been successfully cultivated in the region prior to declared an epic journey. The clue who was born in Normandy in the late 1680s, died in Paris at age 88. After serving as governor of the Auntie's, he would eventually be honored by his king, not the royal highness, he likely pilfered the plant from and his countrymen, poems and songs were written that glorified his coffee growing prowess and a botanical garden in Martinique would later bear his name. Our second spy, another spy, our second spy in the house of caffeine, Francesco Demello Pelita is credited with bringing the coffee growing industry to Brazil. Pelita story is long on legend and much shorter on hard facts. But one shouldn't expect much clarity when dealing with a 300 year old espionage case. It was 1727 and the Portuguese were hoping to bring coffee growing to Brazil, which at the time was still under their control. paita a lieutenant colonel in the Brazilian Army was commissioned by the government to steal a coffee plant from the French since that country, and any others who had them refuse to part with them. The perfect rousse presented itself when Brazil was asked to intercede in a border dispute in nearby French Guyana. paita than 57 went to the country's capital called Cayenne where the pepper got its name, but that's another story and help to resolve a land dispute between the adjoining French and Dutch colonies. While there, Peter said about trying to pilfer a coffee plant, but the much prized crops are under constant supervision. paita allegedly befriended Some sources say seduced, just saying Marie Claude Devika dip haunted Bode, the wife of the colonel governor will have all this stuff. At a state dinner given on the eve of pirates his departure back to Brazil, his new lady friend presented him with a beautiful bouquet of flowers that contained cuttings of the coffee plant. It is here the storyline diverges on how he achieved his goal. The most common variation involves our hero using his rugged good looks and soft touch with the ladies to complete his mission. He allegedly befriended Some sources say seduce Marie Claude avec du Pont Abad and he managed to quell the land dispute and get his valuable prize. So I'm just gonna jump ahead here, back home in Brazil pay to begin cultivating coffee in the state of PRI, and in seven years had about 1000 bushes growing According to one account. coffee production soon spread throughout the country giving rise to an industry that continues to dominate world coffee production today. So the next time you stand in line at Starbucks Consider the nighttime raids, cloak and dagger, intrigue and dark games of espionage that went into allowing you to sip a latte while listening to late stage Bob Dylan. It'll help pass the time until the barista calls your name. So that's it my coffee lovers, I wanted to read that story. It's going to be on YouTube as well, which I mentioned. And I will also put a link to the actual article because I just thought it was really fun story. And this week, I will also have one other that is talks about present farm crime in Ethiopia, so I thought they pair together really well a little then and now. Share your thoughts and ideas on coffee culture. You could put them in the reviews on Apple podcasts or DM me on Instagram. And if you'd like to support an indie podcaster there is a link in the show notes for buying me a coffee. Please subscribe and share a cup of coffee culture with your friends. This season is produced by pale blue studios