In the 16th century, a bitter, dark drink swept into Europe from the Muslim world and panic followed. Priests called it “the invention of Satan.” Rumors claimed it fueled heresy, addiction, and political unrest. Some feared it might even replace wine in Christian life.

The controversy reached the Pope himself. What happened next would transform coffee from a suspicious foreign vice into the drink of choice for priests, scholars, and theologians, and turn coffeehouses into the “penny universities” of the Christian world.

This is the strange, true story of how a hot cup of controversy became a catalyst for conversation, culture, and even the Church’s mission.

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