Whether it’s coffee or tea, think of what’s holy

I was an instructor at a week-long event for aspiring Catholic journalists in Toronto in August. Whenever journalists gather, there will be conversation — and coffee. Lots of coffee. In this case, Catholic coffee.

“Catholic coffee?” you ask. “What is that?”

Catholic Coffee is the name of a small family business in Charlotte, N.C. Its goal is to use a daily habit of drinking coffee, especially in the morning, to focus attention on God through devotion and prayer.

The idea for using coffee in this way came to the founders through their Catholic faith.

“Every Catholic knows the power of ritual,” the company says. “From the sacraments to daily devotions, our faith is woven into the rhythm of life. Yet, there remained one daily habit — a nearly universal practice — that was often disconnected from our spiritual lives: coffee.”

As they say on their website, they want to invite coffee drinkers to make their mornings holy by “sanctifying the first moments of the day.”

To help coffee drinkers do that, the company sells “saint-inspired blends.” Each one honours a Catholic saint and is paired with stories about them and prayers people can use.

You can start your day with a cup of St. Michael dark roast, which reflects the strong and bold character of that saint. There’s also St. John Paul II Peruvian dark roast, with notes of fresh cedar that celebrates his love of the great outdoors, where he found God in creation.

Or you can choose St. Peter roast, which is described as smooth and approachable, appealing to a wide range of tastes and serving as a “daily reminder of our unity within the Catholic Church.”

Altogether, the company sells 18 different roasts, including the All-Saints variety pack for those who can’t quite make up their mind about which coffee to drink or saint to honour.

Catholic thought also permeates how the company is run. It sources its beans using the principles of Catholic social teaching: ethical labour practices, care for creation and human dignity. As well, a portion of each sale goes to support Catholic chaplaincy in the U.S. armed forces.

But it’s not just Catholics who make and sell coffee. A survey found 31 different kinds of Christian branded coffee such as Coffee 4 Missions, The Holy Roast, and Reformed Roasters — its website proclaims it to be 100 per cent “Calvinated” coffee “that chooses you.”

One thing you won’t find is coffee made by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Seventh Day Adventists; those groups are instructed to avoid drinking coffee as part of their faith.

Historically, coffee drinking has been connected to religion in various ways. This includes how it originated and became popular in Muslim-majority countries; Sufi mystics found it helped them stay alert during nighttime prayer and devotional practices.

That association with Islam caused some Christians to oppose coffee when it became popular in Europe in the 16th century. A story (that is probably apocryphal) is told that some of them went to Pope Clement VIII and asked him to condemn the drink.

According to the story, they gave the pope a cup of coffee to drink so he would know how bad it was. The plan backfired; after his first taste, the pope declared it delicious and quipped it was too good a drink to leave to the devil.

What about tea? It turns out that there is also a relationship between religion and that drink.

Hundreds of years ago, Buddhist monks started drinking tea to help them stay awake during meditation. That led to Buddhist communities promoting tea drinking, with many ancient monasteries maintaining their own tea gardens.

Writing about the practice of drinking tea in Buddhist Door Global, Sarah Beasley said that “tea is a sacred aspect of Buddhist hospitality, of respect, honoring, and deference. It is both literal — a beverage to sate the thirst, to warm or cool the body — and symbolic. Of all possible offerings, real or imagined, tea is a universal gift, a show of gratitude and love.”

Drinking tea is often associated with England. But it was not always lauded there. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, once preached against consuming it. He argued it was bad for health and that money spent on tea could be better used helping the poor.

In the 19th century, the temperance movement — which had deep religious roots — promoted tea drinking as an alternative to alcohol. According to historian Erika Rappaport, temperance leaders believed it would enable people to “achieve class and gender harmony, political citizenship, and a heavenly home.”

Whatever your drink of choice, next time you brew a cup, you might want to give a few thoughts to its religious roots. Or even now, when you read this column while drinking a cup of coffee or tea.

Jdl562000@yahoo.com

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