When
coffee was first introduced to Europe from the Americas it was a new and
exciting crop that drew much attention. There were many conflicting views on
coffee, mostly on whether it would kill you or not. Coffee was illegal in
Sweden as of 1674, yet use continued because it became fashionable among the
wealthy and powerful. However, the king was terrified of it and implemented
heavy fines against its use.
Gustav
III thought the substance threatened public health and ran a study with two
twins to learn more about it. Two identical twins had been arrested and
sentenced to death. Instead, the king changed their sentence on the condition
that one twin was to drink three pots of tea each day and the other was to
consume three pots of coffee. The results? Strangely, the king and all of his
physicians died before either of the twins.
The
tea-drinker lived to the age of 83 and the coffee drinker made it even longer.
This helped the Swedish government conclude that it couldn’t be that bad for
you and in 1794 the ban on coffee was lifted!
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