The Historical Creation of the World of Coffee, 1500-2000

FAIN: FA-53661-07

Steven Curtis Topik
Regents of the University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA 92617-3066)

The object of my study is a holistic world history of coffee that examines the dynamic inter-relationship between the coffee-consuming North and the coffee-growing South by following its evolution since it left Ethiopia some five hundred years ago. A longitudinal study that seeks to integrate and contrast societies from different parts of the globe, it also will chart the importance not only of expanding market forces, but also the impact of non-market influences such as religion, ethnic culture, war, literature, and art on coffee’s spreading influence.