The Devil’s Cup

Coffee, the Driving Force in History

by Stewart Lee Allen

Soho Press, 256 pp., $26

This devoted book of pilgrimage — part travelogue, part history lesson — traces coffee’s role through the ages and comes up with a theory: Nearly every event in world history was directly influenced by the bean, and the author, an appealing crackpot, travels literally all over the world looking for proof. After epic journeys throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe, Allen ends up driving around the U.S. looking for the worst cup of coffee (and finds it in Adrian, Texas). Whether or not you swallow the premise that coffee has always been a major player in world history, Allen’s endless stream of coffee-related stories — from hunting down the French coffee prophet De Clieu’s sole living relative to seeing the Whirling Dervishes perform in a Turkish basketball stadium — makes for a fascinating read, and a classic example of enthusiastic research.

This article appears in January 28 • 2000.

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