Letter to the Editor: Correction
Letter to the Editor to
Sprudge: Coffee News and Culture
715 NW Hoyt Street #3943
Portland OR 97208
infoATsprudgeDOTcom
(Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman are the founders and editors of Sprudge.)
April 30, 2019
CORRECTION
Dear Editors:
I read Joe Nersessian's "Sprudge Guide to Yerevan, Armenia" with interest and wish to point out an important detail for all concerned.
Armenians know that they did not invent coffee but also know that their merchant ancestors were the first to bring coffee to the Ottoman Empire. Turks may think that they themselves invented coffee and/or brought it to the Ottoman Empire, but in their case, neither is true.
As the following article describes, Armenians opened the first coffee houses in Europe (Vienna, Prague, Paris, Venice, and London). This is why Armenians describe a particular type of espresso as "Armenian coffee."
https://anca.org/press-release/coffee-a-cup-of-history/
In his article, Mr. Nersessian states that the reason that Turks and Armenians disagree about the nomenclature of a certain preparation of coffee is because of their own tense relations. This is inaccurate.
Many other products popularized in Turkey were not invented by Turks, either, such as Turkish Delight (Rahat Lokhoum - enjoyed for many years by Persians and Arabs before it was introduced in Turkey); Turkish Taffy (invented by an Austrian immigrant to Coney Island); Turkish Towels (invented by Armenian weavers); and Turkish Baths (the oldest known hammam dates back to the 8th century in Morocco).
You would be doing your readers and history a service if you were to correct this error in Mr. Nersessian's article.
Thank you,
Lucine Kasbarian