Sunday, March 29, 2009

buzzin' fly

Around 1669, a Turkish ambassador influenced Paris
society - coffee drinking is highly fashionable, making
its popularity with Paris's capitalistic bourgeoisie.
Everything Turkish came into vogue.

"A Turkish ambassador in Paris made the beverage
fashionable, the brilliant porcelain cups, in which it
was poured, the napkins fringed with gold, and the
Turkish slaves on their knees presenting it to the
ladies, seated on cushions, turned the heads of the
Parisian dames. This elegant introduction made
the exotic beverage a subject of conversation."

Isaac D'Israeli
Paris - 1670



12 comments:

R.L. Bourges said...

wow. great song, cm. (Can you imagine the show in Paris in the 1600s though, with the kneeling slaves and all that? kind of yucky, when you think about it.)

tony said...

I was in the Starbucks in Istanbul recently.they,ve changed !

Anonymous said...

Oh man is this relaxing! Great tune, C.M. :)

Merle Sneed said...

Interesting history my friend. I usually try to avoid the chic.

starsailor said...

Buzzin' fly is one of my favorite Tim Buckley songs. R.I.P., Tim.

ratatouille's archives said...

Bonjour! C.M.,
A Really nice! song,(sounds) great info(rmation) about Paris, the Turks and coffee, but of course!
Merci!
Deedee,

Coffee Messiah said...

rlb:What a weird site it must have been. But Paris anytime before now must have been very cool ; )

tony: Why would you go to SB in any country?

subT: Thanks!

starsailor: Mine too. Saw him once in SF in the early 70s. He had the women swooning.

dcd: Hi and Thanks for popping by!

Mark said...

Love Turkey! Very good.

Coffee Messiah said...

mark: You;re a lucky man ; )

Brian Miller said...

great song. Javacurry...hmmm, i would try it. nice
post.

Squirrel said...

I love it , coffee on cushions... except for the slave part I can see it perfectly. When I think of elegance with coffee, I think of Turkey and Russia.

Coffee Messiah said...

brian: I'm afraid to try the package, but it should be tasty with real coffee in real curry ; )

squirrel: Elegance is a good thing, if not used to make people feel small ; )
Slaves would be weird and very uncomfortable, unless they were some of the rich bastards taking advantage of the working poor ; )