History of coffee in Switzerland

The history of coffee in Switzerland has been little explored so far. Yet, the last centuries are full of anecdotes: colorful, but also grim. Together with food historian Dominik Flammer, we shed light on the last three hundred years in a podcast.

Dominik Flammer isn't one for reserved statements. His focus is clearly on making the everyday visible.

"Louis XIV was the number one influencer for European nobility when it came to indulgence!"

Or:

"This romanticization that everything used to be better is absolute nonsense."

Coffee is something that has become commonplace for many people. However, it is not a given that a product travels half the world, by jeep, by truck, by ship, and again by truck, is roasted, and still tastes good. Every time a bag of coffee from a distant world arrives at our roastery, it's a small miracle to me. But coffee has become an everyday item for many. To look at something so commonplace in a new way, it takes striking images and statements.

Dominik Flammer, food researcher, author and curator of the Culinarium Alpinum in Stans, spoke with me in a podcast about the history of coffee in Switzerland. Yes, coffee used to be more commonplace, back when it was roasted at home. But it was only with advancing industrialization that the era of coffee roasteries began. "People were out of the house more, working almost around the clock, roasting coffee themselves was no longer an option."

The Graubünden people as founders of coffee houses throughout Europe

The often-cited history of coffee begins with the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683. But the first coffee houses were not founded in Vienna, but in Italy. It was exiled Graubünden people, mainly confectioners, who first settled in Northern Italy, and then throughout Europe, and founded coffee houses.

In the beginning, coffee houses were taverns, dives, often used for indulging in carnal pleasures.

Dominik Flammer

We're talking about the intertwining of bourgeois ideals, coffee, status, and religion, and how this influenced consumption patterns.

Switzerland as an actor in the slave trade and coffee colonialism

"You just need historians who can think freely and shed traditions," says Dominik Flammer in the podcast. Swiss colonial history has long been known, but it has only been precisely documented historically in the last 40 years.

Coffee was then a colonial commodity that had to be planted and harvested. For this, people from West Africa were enslaved in South America, mostly on large plantations. Swiss families not only owned plantations but were heavily involved in logistics – they organized the transport of slaves, as well as the transport of coffee. "A triangular business," as Dominik Flammer calls it in the podcast.

From chicory coffee, to apothecary's candy, to roastery coffee

Coffee was expensive for a long time and was therefore understood as a luxury good. However, the consumption at that time had little to do with today's understanding of coffee.

Five coffee beans had to be enough for one cup of coffee, plus substitutes such as chicory, or lupins, sugar, and spices.

Dominik Flammer

Aren't we glad that we can experience coffee differently today? The conversation with Dominik Flammer showed me how the history of coffee in Switzerland unfolded, but above all, that we are on a good path to enjoying coffee more again.

Two hundred years ago, coffee was roasted at home – it was simply cheaper and was the custom. Today, many people roast their coffee at home again and understand, see, and smell the processes, being close to it.

Interestingly, the famous Schwarzenbach coffee roastery in Zurich's Niederdorf only started roasting in 1929; before that, they sold green coffee to customers.

Dominik Flammer engagingly shows how lively the history of coffee is and how we all have a connection to it. Enjoy listening.