Incredible story of Viennese coffee

Spying passions, Turkish captivity and the birth of coffee culture in Europe. This is an incredible story of Viennese coffee.

The origin of coffee in Vienna is associated with the name of the Ukrainian nobleman Yuri-Franz Kulchytsky. In 1683, Vienna, where the merchant was, was attacked by the Turkish army and soon the city was besieged.

The situation seemed hopeless, and someone was needed who could sneak through the Turkish camp and deliver a letter to the Duke Charles of Lorraine asking for help. Kulchytsky volunteered. As he was well acquainted with Turkish customs and language (the merchant had previously been captured by the Turks), Kulczycki penetrated the enemy's camp and, under the pretext of delivering food to the army, reached his goal. Vienna was saved, and Yuri-Franz himself received a generous gift from the king: an estate, a large sum of money and permission to collect trophies from a Turkish shop.

Kulchytsky avoided jewelry and precious fabrics, but only took 300 bags of coffee. The product at the time was strange and unknown. The city's first coffee shop, Under the Blue Bottle, soon opened, where the hero began serving a new drink. The bitter taste of the beans was not to the taste of the townspeople, so the businessman looked for ways to soften the taste and began to add milk, honey and sugar to the coffee. So Viennese coffee gained its popularity.

Now there are many options for the drink. Here is a classic recipe:

1.  Pour a portion of espresso into a tall cup
   
2.  Whip the cream with the sugar and spread on top
3.  Sprinkle with pieces of chocolate and spices. Cinnamon is often used.

It's much more interesting to drink coffee when you know its history, right?

More stories about coffee - in our blog.