Mecca

Coffee was banned in Mecca in 1511 (#timeline/ce16 ) as it was believed to stimulate radical thinking and hanging out — the governor thought it might unite his opposition. It had a negative opinion because of its stimulatory properties — some Sufi sects would pass around a bowl of coffee at funerals to stay awake during prayers.

Italy

Clergymen pressed for coffee to be banned when it arrived in Europe in the#timeline/ce16. It was labelled Satanic, but received a papal blessing from Pope Clement VIII after he tasted the beverage.

Constantinople

After Murad IV claimed the Ottoman throne in 1623, he quickly forbade coffee and set up a system of reasonable penalties. The punishment for a first offense was a beating. Anyone caught with coffee a second time was sewn into a leather bag and thrown into the waters of the Bosporus.

Sweden

Sweden gave coffee the ax in 1746. The government also banned “coffee paraphernalia” — with cops confiscating cups and dishes. King Gustav III even ordered convicted murderers to drink coffee while doctors monitored how long the cups of joe took to kill them, which was great for convicts and boring for the doctors.

Prussia

In 1777, Frederick the Great of Prussia issued a manifesto claiming beer’s superiority over coffee. He argued that coffee interfered with the country’s beer consumption, apparently hoping a royal statement would make Prussians eager for an eye-opening brew each morning. Frederick’s statement proclaimed, “His Majesty was brought up on beer,” explaining why he thought breakfast drinking was a good idea.