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The Pope, the Devil, and Coffee... What's Italy Got to do With This?

From 1592 to 1605, Pope Clement VIII was head of the Christian world.  Trade was growing and bringing new products that Europeans had never seen before.  Among them was coffee.  So, the legend goes that due to its popularity in the Muslim community, as well as its curious effect, coffee became known as “the devil’s drink” and the Pope’s advisors tried to convince him to denounce it as such.  Thankfully, the Pope determined that he must try it himself before deciding to curse it forever.  “This devil’s drink is delicious!”, he proclaimed!  He decided rather than denouncing it, better to...