French travellers in the 19th c. were often disappointed by the coffeehouses they encountered in North Africa. They expected the Orientalist fantasies they had grown accustomed to (in paintings & novels) & were shocked when the reality differed from that. #HistoryOfCoffee [1/4]
Jules Leclercq described them in an 1881 account about his journey through Morocco & Algeria as nothing but "dirty huts", adding that the "cafés of Tangier have nothing that corresponds with the brilliant [preconceived] ideas that we have of Oriental cafés" #Orientalism [2/4]
Showing his general prejudice towards North Africans, Leclercq admitted that "it was not without repugnance that I accepted the poorly cleaned cup", adding that this "black brew, thick, steaming [...] inspired little confidence in me". #FrenchColonialism #HistoryOfCoffee [3/4]
Once he had tasted it, however, he acknowledged that "this brew was completely delicious", adding that "only Moors know how to make coffee". Source: Leclercq, Jules. De Mogador à Biskra: Maroc & Algérie. Paris: Challamel Ainé, 1881, p. 22f. #twitterstorians #DrinkingStudies [4/4]
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