Did the Romans Drink Coffee? (Solved & Explained!)

The ancient Romans did not drink coffee. In fact, an entire millennium would pass between the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE and the beginnings of coffee as a drink in the 15th century. Modern Romans, however, do have a long tradition of coffee brewing and consumption that has influenced the world.

In the rest of the article, we’re going to look at the development of coffee drinking and what the Romans had instead.

What Was the Main Drink of the Romans?

The main drink you’d find Romans consuming with or outside of meals was wine, but the Roman idea of wine was different to our own. Roman wines were usually watered down, thus reducing their alcohol content and making them more suitable as drink for throughout the workday, as well as allowing them to often mix other ingredients with their wines.

Did the Romans Have Any Caffeine Drinks?

Although caffeine was used around the world from possibly as early as 3000 BCE, these common drinks did not reach Rome until well after the end of the Roman Empire. Examples of caffeinated drinks to reach Rome after the fall of the Roman empire include tea from China, cocoa from the Americas, and kola from West Africa.

Did the Romans Have Access to Any Stimulants?

It may sound surprising, but coffee is not uniquely absent as a stimulant in ancient Roman civilization, with there being none at all available to them at the time. The other common stimulant people associate with history is nicotine, but the tobacco plant is native to the Americas and was only introduced to Europe in 1559, close to coffee’s popularization.

What Did the Romans Drink Instead of Coffee?

When in need of a warm drink, the Romans had something called calida, which was made from wine, and like most Roman wines, was watered down, but it was done so with warm water. In addition to this temperature change, the Romans would also mix spices into their calida to give it that familiar warming feel of coffee.

Has the Roman Alternative to Coffee Reached Modern Times?

Although famously associated with Germanic cultures, the popular winter drink of mulled wine is a direct descendent of Roman calida. The Romans’ drink and their knowledge of winegrowing spread throughout many parts of Europe and the Mediterranean world during the height of their empire, and this popularized the drink, leaving it relevant all the way into modern times.

What Else Do We Associate With the Romans That They Did Not Have?

Italian and, more broadly, Mediterranean cuisine is popular for a lot of ingredients, but a number of them were not used by the ancient Romans. Eggplants had not yet been imported from India, tomatoes had not made their journey from their native Americas, and zucchini was only bred for the first time in the 20th century.

Which Empires Were Famous for Drinking Coffee?

Although Turkish coffee traditions may make you associate it with the Ottoman Empire, the drink was banned there in 1633 for its contribution to anti-authoritarian discussions and only legalized again in the 1700s. This social upheaval wasn’t exclusive to the Ottomans, with coffee houses quickly spreading to the British and French Empires, as well as to regional powers like Prussia.

When Was the Coffee Bean Discovered?

As the National Coffee Association USA note, there is no historical consensus on the discovery of the coffee bean, but the most common legend is set in 9th century Ethiopia. In the legend, a goatherd named Kaldi noted his goats becoming energetic when eating coffee fruits and took the plants to a monastery, where the first coffee was brewed.

When Did People Begin Drinking Coffee?

Contrary to the Ethiopian legend, which was only first attested in the 17th century, the first confirmed evidence of coffee drinking is from Yemen in the 15th century. The coffee beans used were imported from Ethiopia, but they only began being brewed into drink for Sufi monasteries at their destination, with no prior record existing of the drink in Ethiopia.

Why Did People First Begin Drinking Coffee?

Where we now mostly accept coffee as an aid to waking us up for an early morning, the first consumers of the drink used it to help them stay awake in the evenings. Further, as a stimulant, it made them not only awake but also alert, giving these monks the ability to concentrate on their prayer more effectively.

How Did Coffee Spread?

Merchants trading with the Yemeni port of Mocha initially spread the coffee bean to the nearby major settlements of Mecca and Medina, before expanding to major centers like Baghdad, Cairo, and Damascus, then into the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans first brought coffee into Europe when they invaded Hungary in 1526, spreading fast throughout the continent from that point on.

When Did Coffee Reach Rome?

The city of Rome, the seat of the once-dominant Roman Empire, first had access to coffee in the late 16th century. As William Ukers, founder of the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, notes, the initial reception from the authorities of Rome was negative, but after Pope Clement VIII tried the drink himself, he relented and gave it his blessing.

How Much Coffee is Drunk in Rome Today?

Contrary to their ancient counterparts, modern Romans drink copious amounts of coffee, with the average Italian consuming 6kg of coffee every year. Although not the first region in the world to drink coffee, Italians have developed a very long and broad culture around coffee, and this is clearly reflected in the quantity of the drink consumed in the nation.

How Do Modern Romans Drink Their Coffee?

Italy is the seat of Western coffee drinking tradition, and arguably the global trend setter on the matter, and there are many ways in which coffee is taken in the glorious city. Steamed milk plays a crucial role in traditional Italian breakfast coffees, for example, with cappuccinos, lattes, and latte macchiatos having increasing proportions of it.