Vienna And Its Cafes
By Advisor. Filed in Florida |
If you ever have been to Vienna you might have realized that there is a great amount of cafes which present the standard ‘Wiener Melange’ as well as further coffee specialties. But what is so important about coffee in Vienna? There’s a long history behind it.
We all know that the use of coffee came from Africa. From there it was brought to Arabia, where it was known atroughly 500 AD. When the Turks conquered most of Eastern Europe under the Othman Empire, they made the employment of coffee known in those areas. Still, there was a clear line of difference between oriental and occidental cultures, and the employment of coffee was one item. Until 1683.
At that time the Turks had come to Vienna and trapped the city. They about succeeded in their malign search, but finally an army came along from Poland and fought the invaders off.
Now, legend tells us that the Turks fled so swiftly, that they forgot to take their coffee with them. The people from Vienna didn’t know it, thinking it was compost of the camels – animals equally unknown to them. Only a individual Kolschitzky is said to have known, what coffee beans were used for, so he collected all of them and opened the 1st cafe in Vienna.
The reality is slightly different. Where there was a man called Kolschitzky, who was an Austrian scout of Polish origin, during the struggle versus the Turks, and even if he also was permitted to open a coffee bar in’Domgasse’ in Vienna in 1686, he wasn’t the 1st one. The first Viennese cafe was founded a year before by an Armenian called Johannes Diodato ( Owanes Astouatzatur ). Being born in Constantinopel he supposedly knew coffee and how to use it. But Kolschitzky is alleged to have invented the filtering of the coffee and to mix it with milk.
However, there’s no doubt that the Austrians came to understand coffee through the Turks – and when the cultural edge well was crossed, coffee made its victory procession throughout western Europe as well. In the subsequent century the Dutch used their colonies to cultivate coffee there, so getting enough sell to the Old World.
At present there are a large quantity of coffee beans, every one of them tasting subtley different. There are numerous paths to treat the beans, before you taste the final product. Roasting is only 1 process ( the lighter roasted, the’grainier’, more acid, the taste of your coffee will be ), you can mince it more or less, and finally you can cook it, brew it or make an Espresso-type of coffee.
Here we wish to give you an impression of what kind of coffee you can get in a Viennese’Kaffeehaus’.
Only one word about the history of making coffee :
‘Turkish coffee’ : employing a copper-pot, you pour the well ground coffee, sugar and water into it, stir it while boiling and serve the blend in a ( tiny ) cup. You have to hang on a minute, until the coffee powder has sunk, it’ll then remain at the base of the cup. This technique is still utilized in south-eastern Europe.
Boiling coffee is also frequently used this day in northern Sweden, not at least by the aboriginal folk of the North, the Lapps. This is usuallysince it’s the most simple way to make coffee over an open flame.
Boiling the coffee was the only substitute until the coffee filter was invented, by a German woman. Her name was Melitta, and the Melitta-filter is still a usual trade mark. Since then we have got the probability to brew coffee too. Ultimately Espresso-machines started to be used, and this day just about all coffee you ask for in cafes is of Espresso-type.
At this point you possibly will wish to try the coffee in a genuine Viennese Kaffeehaus. So don’t hesitate and book your city tour to the austrian capital. In the centre you may find many Ferienwohnungen Wien. When you choose a Ferienwohnung Wien as accommodation you’ll have the best place to begin to discover the city with all its cafes.
