Friday, November 21, 2008

Paris became one vast cafe.

Conversation in France was at its zenith.

The intangible flow of wit was as
spontaneous as possible.

For this sparkling outburst there
is no doubt that honor should be
ascribed in part to the great event
which created new customs and
even modified human temperament:

The advent of Coffee.

Jules Michelet - French Historian 1798 - 1874
Describing 18th Century Paris



16 comments:

R.L. Bourges said...

Wim Mertens was a complete discovery for me. Thank you for that.

Michelet's observation is fascinating. If you compare French literature of the 17th and the 18th century, you can really sense the difference - in pace, notably, but also in how the works are structured. I'd never thought of the role coffee might have played in that.

Most interesting - as our the froglets. I'm calling them Citius, Altius and Fortius, as in the Olympic motto - swifter, higher, stronger. Just had my after lunch coffee, guess my brain is percolating :-)

bitchlet said...

So many people must have done PHD's on this. So interesting.

Merle Sneed said...

Very beautiful, thanks for the link.

Michael Bains said...

Ahhh! At least we get to take the Good with the Bad.

Happy Holidays, Coffee!

lettuce said...

i was going to say "Why frogs?"

doh!

Georg said...

Bonjour Coffee,

Wim Mertens, splendid music. First time for me. Thank you.

Normally I would say this kind of music would not find too much fans in the US.

Coffee came to Europe with the Turks. When they tried to conquer Vienna in 1689 they brought some sacks with them and left it outside the city walls when running back home.

Georg

Squirrel said...

how many different brand of coffee have there been since the dawn of packaging coffee? Very cool.

Coffee Messiah said...

rlb: I'm glad you enjoyed WM. Although I heard him on the Windham Hill label years ago, I never liked him. Recently ran across a few later albums and this live album is among his best musically. The young musicians work well with him.
Early literature is a joy to read, if just for structure.....

bitchlet: Not sure about that, but like wine etc it'll never go away, or at least not until it can't be grown anymore, which I hope will never happen.

merle: You're very welcome.

mb: Hey, nice to C U and thanks 4 stopping by! ; )

lettuce: No big deal.....

georg: Bonjour....and you'd be surprised what we read and listen to here. Remember, don't pay attention to the guy in the white house at this time, he's not a good indication of who we are as people.

squirrel: I'm not sure if that has been taken in account. Good ? though. Hope all is well in your house!

tony said...

I Am Investigating........! Sounds.Bloody.GOOD!
Have A Good Weekend Sir.

High Power Rocketry said...

: )

Anonymous said...

grenouilles connaître leur café!

Coffee Messiah said...

tony: Thanks, U 2!

r2k: )

hR9: Ribbet......

mouse (aka kimy) said...

little has changed since the michelet's description of 18th century paris - last time I was there (2007) paris still seemed to be one vast cafe!! ah to be back!!

ribbit, ribbit, ribbit

Coffee Messiah said...

kimy: Never been, but would like to ; )

ratatouille's archives said...

Je suis très heureux d'avoir découvert votre blog ... je l'espère, à visiter souvent!
Merci
darkcitydame ;-)

Ténèbres à la lumière... said...

Hello! Coffee Messiah,
Thank-you! for your comment that you left on my blog and please excuse me for not translating my previous message...Well, here it goes...I am very pleased to have found your blog ... I hope to visit often!
Thank you!


darkcitydame aka (The editor) ;-)