Collectibles -> Housewares-and-Kitchenware -> Tableware
A coffee set is a highly collectible item, whether you’re looking for a traditional Turkish coffee set that’s unique, or a modern-day coffee set designed for novelty. Before there were sets designed for the brewing and drinking of coffee, however, coffee had to become popular enough to warrant them. The very origins of coffee as a popular drink are quite murky, but at least two different stories have two different Ethiopian goat herders noticing that their goats seemed to have more vim and vigor after eating some reddish colored berries. The goat herders tried the berries themselves and realized that they felt more energetic, too. The stories say they were the first people to try the raw berries from coffee plants.
Coffee may get its name from the Kindgom of Kaffa, where the coffee plant is believed to have originated. And perhaps where these goats and goat herders got their first caffeine boost from coffee! While coffee has references in writings dating back more than a thousand years, the first definitive work chronicling coffee’s history was written in the 16th century. It talked about how the drink’s popularity grew, spreading from country to country, and how it was often used to help people stay awake. It was first exported to Yemen in the 15th century, and saw the first coffee house opened there during that time. That was also perhaps the origin of the coffee set, as those used in the establishment.
Coffee was banned by several governments, several different times, but generally each time the ban was overturned for various reasons. It was even banned at least once on the grounds that it was a Muslim drink. The British East India Company and The Dutch East India Company are mostly responsible for coffee’s eventually popularity in Europe. Some wanted the beverage banned as a heathen drink, and though it grew in popularity, most coffeehouses banned women from entering and consuming the drink. For the most part, a coffee set during this time was indistinguishable from a tea set.
Most such sets are advertised as coffee/tea or coffee and tea sets. Silver tea sets are often called coffee sets, and vintage sets can cost thousands of dollars. But modern coffee sets are often no less beautiful and elegant than their antique counterparts. You should look in antique shops and on eBay for a set that speaks to your individual taste unless you’re looking solely for an investment piece, in which case silver would be ideal.
The exception to interchangeable coffee and tea sets in the case of Turkish coffee sets. These beautiful sets usually bear colorful designs on the cups and perhaps even a tray. The coffee ‘pot’ is usually a hand-hammered copper pot with a long handle, unlike most modern coffee pots found today, that was designed specifically for coffee. Even the trays sometimes have brass handles with hand-hammering and sometimes jeweled accents. A Turkish coffee set, whether modern or vintage, will add great character to your collection, as well as your kitchen.
Originally posted 2008-12-28 05:00:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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