COFFEE

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Kass, and any others that can comment,

I am a coffee addict. In my frontiersman camp I always have my pot on the coals, but in the last four years I have included in my monologue the fact that coffee was a great luxury item, and most longhunters would probably not have opted to carry such with them. Also that the beans would have been purchased green, and would have been roasted and ground as needed, as pre ground coffee and percolators were not to come for a long time in the future.

So... now that you folks have me ready to sign articles, whats the scoop on coffee in GAOP? (no pun intended)

Capt. Bo

[Dorian Lasseter]

Wrap yer brainpan 'round this...

http://agt.net/public/coffee/history.htm

An' this...

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee/

[blackjohn]

I'll add coffee houses!!!

http://waeshael.home.att.net/coffee.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_shop

And lets not forget cocoa!!! I remember reading about Dampier and his mates mixing up impromptu cocoa on the spot from ground beans, sugar, and hot water.

[blackjohn]

Also, from the Sadana Island wreck (which I believe is mid-18thC Ottoman):

Excavators recovered a number of objects made primarily

of copper. These included cooking pots and lids,

handles, dishes, a coffee pot, a kettle, ewers, a single tool,

two hinged and linked loops, and two portable grills. In

addition, a well preserved sheave that may be bronze and

weighs at least 12 kilograms and a possible folding lantern

were retrieved.

This report references the following:

Hattox, R. S.

1985 Coffee and Coffeehouses. Univ. of Washington.

I'll also add:

http://www.adventurecorps.com/sadana/coffee.html

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

My thanks to ye both! Saved me alot of time lookin it up. I was sitting here this mornin indulging in my vice, as it were, and the thought just popped in the head so I thought to ask here.

Jas. Townsend used to offer a small brass cofee grinder, but I haven't seen it in the recent catalogues. Anyone know where I might find one? I think it would be a damn good period demo to use in camp, showing the public how much work was involved to make a pot of coffee in an early 18th century camp.

Capt. Bo

[blackjohn]

I've seen them about the net, but never bought one because I wasn't sure of it's accuracy. Try a search on brass coffee grinder. I believe they come in two sizes. There's also ibriks... for making Turkish coffee...

http://www.natashascafe.com/html/oldibrik.html

Brass grinders here... http://www.natashascafe.com/html/mills.html

Fwiw, I don't recall ever seeing one of these as an artifact from the GAP. But I'm still looking!

[blackjohn]

This is also very interesting.

http://www.math.tamu.edu/~comech/tools/cezve/

(NB, I hadn't had a cup of coffee in about a month, then yesterday I broke down and got one. I love it, but it doesn't love me.)

[callenish gunner]

try this siteMy Webpage

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Thankee Gunner! You gents have saved me alot of time googling! Well, now that's solved... Back to my outfit!

Capt. Bo

[JoshuaRed]

Yeah, coffee was HUGE throughout the GAOP. What I wouldn't give to be able to walk into a perfect recreation early 1700's coffee house!

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Starbucks.... circa 1688!

Interesting for a lot of things....

Check out the coffee making stuff in the fireplace.

Aslo, look how, at this early date, the stockings are pulled over the bottom of the breeches and held in place with ribbon. And they are clocked...

You get a good idea of the front, side, and back of the wigs...

Also, look how low the crown of the hats are.

gof

[Gentleman of Fortune]

And another....

This is Late 17th Century as well

The layout is similar to that of the one above....

GoF

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

OK... I'm a sick mind, that guy with his back to us looks like he's in the buff with cuffs!

And there's aguy by the window with a BEARD! Obviously not a seaman either! Too cool!

Thanks GoF... again, great stuff.

BTW- I'm getting stronger everyday, and I hope to start on that Spanish axe you like so well. If it turns out well, I'll post some pic.'s so you can see if you want it or not when it's done.

Later... Capt. Bo

[Capt. Sterling]

I'll add coffee houses!!!

And lets not forget cocoa!!!  I remember reading about Dampier and his mates mixing up impromptu cocoa on the spot from ground beans, sugar, and hot water.

Rumor has it that Williamsburg has come out with a period correct chocolate, which they serve with cyanne pepper... makes one wonder as either Waller or Picard claim that between all the coffee and chocolate of the time, most of London would have been on a full time high!!

Hector

[blackjohn]

Hmmm... I've seen this a bazillion times, but can't say that I've ever seen a color version. Interesting.

Remember to drink you coffee from a bowl!

Oh... fwiw, Neumann's Rev War encyclopedia leads me to believe those brass grinders are a little later than our period. He says in the 17th century beans were ground with a mortar and pestle.

[blackjohn]

I'll add coffee houses!!!

And lets not forget cocoa!!!  I remember reading about Dampier and his mates mixing up impromptu cocoa on the spot from ground beans, sugar, and hot water.

Rumor has it that Williamsburg has come out with a period correct chocolate, which they serve with cyanne pepper... makes one wonder as either Waller or Picard claim that between all the coffee and chocolate of the time, most of London would have been on a full time high!!

Hector

While watching the Food Network a month or so ago... Ah! around Valentine's Day!... there was a special on Unwrapped that was about chocolate. They went to Williamsburg and showed some guy making chocolate candy from an 18th century recipe. It was pretty cool!

ps - like that sig! I've always wanted to make a banyan and wear that to a pirate event. As I believe I stated before, maybe on the piratebrethren mail list, give me that, and a pipe, and I could be the Dread Pirate Hefner!

[Capt. Sterling]

They went to Williamsburg and showed some guy making chocolate candy from an 18th century recipe.  It was pretty cool!

ps - like that sig!  I've always wanted to make a banyan and wear that to a pirate event.  As I believe I stated before, maybe on the piratebrethren mail list, give me that, and a pipe, and I could be the Dread Pirate Hefner!

Thanks BlackJohn

Banyans were considered undress wear, but not necessarily robes as we think of robes today. Many business men wore them at work and could even visit certain other business men in their banyans. There were loose rules on when and where to go out in them... For instance, say, the Govenor of Williamsburg could receive callers wearing his banyan, but those calling upon him would be dressed properly. A tradesman/shop owner could wear his in shop and go out to another shop where the owners were of equal/lesser station still dressed in his banyan as long as the other shop was within a building or two's distance or directly across the street. If it was across town, he'd put on a proper coat. So onboard ship, it would seem very suitable for the captain to wear his outside of his cabin, if he indeed had a banyan. Silks as well as Indian cottons were usually used for the banyan's fabric. Now off to get a cup of coffee.....

Hector

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Thanx for the updated info. I will use the grinder for my colonial kit, and I bought my better half a nice Jade mortar and pestle as an aniversary gift, so maybe she'll let me use it for the GAoP kit if I do coffee demo's.

Capt. Bo

[blackjohn]

Probably a little too gaudy, yes?

"From the treasure troves of the Green Vault Museum: The golden coffee service of court jeweler Johann Melchior Dinglinger.

Dresden 1697/1701"

[blackjohn]

and what good is coffee without... (wait for it!)

mmmm...

donuts!

[blackjohn]

Some nice pics here:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/coff/hd_coff.htm

[Fox]

On Coffee:

I posted this over at the piratebrethren forum, but I'll post it here again. This is an early 18thC French spirit/oil burning brazier specifically designed for heating a coffee pot.

I rather fancy one for wet Sundays at events.

On BlackJohn Hefner:

I believe the picture which started John down his road toward the Playboy Galleon was this one of a merchant sea-captain, circa 1730

[Hawkyns]

Now if we only had documentation on the 17th/18th century bunny costume, i'd be a happy man.

Hawkyns

[blackjohn]

I'll get on the research RIGHT AWAY!!!

[Fox]

There must have been some sort of equivalent: Adamites spring to mind, but I have a feeling that the short lived religious craze was more popular with men than women, and of course the religious nature of the Adamites means they had little in real common with bunny girls.

I suspect that the Dread Pirate Hef would have had a few "posture women" about the place. These delightful ladies stripped themselves and performed dances or vignets for brothel patrons, apparently often being borne aloft on a large plate. The semi-dressed lady front loeft in this painting by Hogarth (1733) is thought to be a Posture Woman preparing.

Perhaps the closest thing to a bunny girl to be found in the GAoP would have been one of the guests at the masked balls, or "Midnight Masques" which were becoming so popular and scandalising decent society in the opening years of the 18thC. In 1711 The Spectator remarked that "Fishes are caught with Hooks, Birds are ensnared with Nets, but Virgins with Masquerades."

The first large scale public masquerades were conceived and arranged by James Heidegger in 1708, and by the 1720s they were hugely popular. Costumes were often based on fantasy and legend, but also sometimes included symbolic animals - perhaps including rabbits. In 1749 a Miss Chudleigh, maid to the Queen, made the papers with her revealing outfit which left her top half more or less naked. Walpole commented that "Miss Chudleigh was Iphigenia but so naked that you could have taken her for Andromeda"

Erm, coffee anyone?