Abstract
COFFEE FROM THE WRITINGS OF DR. BESİM ÖMER
Coffee is made by bringing roasted powdered coffee and hot water together. Coffee with its scent; taste; brewing method and unique way of serving, not only does it have a special place in our culture, but it is also liked and consumed all over the world as well.
In our culture, the value of the coffee is highlihted by the expression “A cup of coffee can be remembered for 40 years”, which has also been mentioned in literature and scientific studies. Apart from studies on the origin; the historical development and the uses of coffee, medical studies have been carried out by doctors as well. One of the studies have been carried out by Dr. Besim Ömer [Akalın]: Mükeyyifât ve Müskirât’tan Afyon, Kahve, Çay, Esrar (Opium, Coffee, Tea, Marijuana). Mükeyyifât refears to pleasure inducing substances while müskirât refears to intoxicating substances. The second section of this 100 pages book, written in Ottoman Turkish, talks about coffee. Topics like the history of coffee; whether coffee can be considered food or not; coffee’s chemical ingredients; its brewing method; its good and bad effects on health as well as the illnesses that coffee can treat, all studied from a doctor’s point of view. Our work aims to present the importance of this book, in terms of it’s subject and vocabulary.
Keywords
Dr. Besim Ömer, Coffee, Ottoman Turkish, Medical texts, Pleasure inducing substances.