In Coffee, We Trust (Coffee and café moments Contest)

When Elzie Crisler Segar introduces Popeye with his spinach, Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo introduces Asterix with his superpower potion, but in other parts of the world, crazy ideas sometimes emerge from a cup of coffee. For some people, drinking coffee may be just a daily activity related to caffeine or a friend to chat with, but in our country, namely, Aceh (Indonesia) coffee is considered sacred. It has not even become a mandatory ritual in the morning, before people go to work, but has become an integral part of a movement against colonialism. Coffee appears and is always put forward as a moment in the heroic epic of Teuku Umar (national hero from Aceh). Just before the famous hero wearing a hood as big as a bucket was killed at the end of the rifle, he had said, "tomorrow morning we will drink coffee at the Meulaboh coffee shop, or I will be a martyr."

Are these stories about coffee glorification fairly new? No! William H. Ukers said in All About Coffe that the discourse on discussing plants that have two types of trees (Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica) has been scientifically carried out since the Symposium on The Etymology of The Word Coffee in 1909. "coffee" refers to the term "qahwah", which means "strong" when translated into Arabic. Meanwhile, a student of Imam Shafie College Mukalla, Yemen named Moh. Nasirul Haq, claims that coffee is the drink of the Sufis. He linked this claim with the statement of a number of imams, including Ibn Hajar al-Haitami, who wrote "know, O restless hearts, this coffee has been made by calm people as an invitation to the coming of the divine secret and the remover of trouble."

Al Habib Ahmad, the author of the book Tadzkiruun Naas even proposes a more supra-rational story. Have you heard the story of how coffee has magical powers as a protective veil from evil creatures? In the book, it is written that "while a house or a place where [...] coffee is usually made, the genie will not be able to occupy it and will not be able to approach or interfere." There is even a story that doesn't make sense, about someone who was given a special prayer and practice by the prophet, where his prayer reads "O Lord, make this coffee a light for my eyes, health for my body, healing for my heart and a cure for all diseases, O Substances. Strong and Sturdy."

I myself once imagined a story where a death row inmate was about to face the guillotine for his guilt, then before he was executed, he was given one last chance. "Now tell me what is your last wish," asked the warden, before the executioner led him onto the guillotine stage. The prisoner was silent for a moment, then he lifted his head, and said, "I want nothing more in this world, but a cup of coffee to sip." Classic isn't it? But, that's how coffee has a specialty that until now I have not found in other drinks. So, am I a coffee maniac? Yes, drinking coffee has become an inseparable part, for work, even romance. At our place, you wouldn't be surprised to see a couple celebrating their anniversary at a coffee shop without an annual anniversary gift.

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