That Coffee Roasters: Cultural Icons Who Were Huge Coffee Addicts

martes, 24 de octubre de 2017

Cultural Icons Who Were Huge Coffee Addicts

Did you know they were addicted to coffee?

Art can be exhausting, unforgiving and full of raw passions. The same can be said for politicians', philosophers', and thinkers' job. It's no surprise then that so many people have found solace in the distinct taste and aroma of a great cup of coffee. It's perfect to replenish the energy of those tormented minds of inspired souls who lack a good night of sleep.

Some of these icons went to the extreme when consuming coffee, and others have dedicated part of their work to this beloved drink as it made their lives better in one way or another. From modern comedians to novelists from the XVIII century, coffee has conquered many hearts, and we’ve gathered them all here for you!

If you don’t understand why coffee has been such a great ally to creative people, perhaps realist writer, Honoré de Balzac, can explain it better than anyone else: “Coffee glides into one’s stomach and sets all of one’s mental processes in motion. One’s ideas advance in column of route like battalions of the Grande Armée [...] Were it not for coffee one could not write, which is to say one could not live.”

The novelist was known for consuming as many as 50 cups a day to maintain his extreme creative outbursts when working. Nowadays, there’s even a brand of coffee with his name. Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood, another famous coffee lover, has also lent her name to one of this brand's products.

But literature hasn’t been the only branch of art benefitted by coffee. Musicians have always been some of the most famous coffee addicts the world has seen. Beethoven meticulously counted 60 beans by hand in each cup of coffee, composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote an opera named The Coffeecantata, and many modern singers, like Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan or Ella Fitzgerald, have included their love for this beverage in their songs.

Moving on to more recent days, many popular celebrities are very outspoken about their coffee dependence. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld even went on to make a comedy series called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, with the appearance of the likes of David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jim Carrey and many others.

Many other artists and celebrities have also created their own coffee lines. David Lynch, a famous writer and director, has its own signature brand, as well as Hugh Jackman. Just as one would expect, Leonardo DiCaprio’s line is dedicated to incentivize sustainable production and donate to environmental causes.

In the line of thinkers, philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre or Voltaire had all in common their love for coffee. Actually, the Danish social critic Kierkegaard used to drink his coffee with approximately 60 sugar cubes. And if you think that’s extreme, Voltaire drank up to 50 cups of java per day.

Now, this list wouldn’t be complete without some of the greatest coffee consumers of all time: world leaders and politicians. Perhaps one of the most impressive ones is Theodore Roosevelt, who used to drink a gallon of coffee a day with 5 to 7 lumps of sugar in each cup. Benjamin Franklin also sold his own coffee beans, and Napoleon Bonaparte reportedly asked for coffee on his own deathbed.

Of course, too much of anything will be bad for your health, but sometimes it’s hard to rationalize with passionate people. In That Coffee Roasters we also consider ourselves coffee addicts, but how couldn’t we? What about you? Do you also use coffee to fuel your inspiration and creativity? How much coffee do you drink every week? Let us know in the comments and stay updated with our new content!