3 Countries That Have Banned Citizens From Drinking Coffee

Coffee drinking illustration (Freepic)

JAKARTA - Before becoming popular and drinks were mandatory for many people to support daily activities, coffee was once a prohibited drink. The ban on drinking coffee had occurred in several countries, along with the list.

Launching from kaburn Espreso, on Thursday, January 23, 2025, when coffee arrived in Europe in the 16th century, Italian priests at that time demanded that the drink be prohibited from being consumed. Coffee is even labeled a devil drink.

However, when Pope Clement VIII tasted it, he said that coffee had a delicious taste. Coffee is finally slowly allowed to be consumed in Italy, with the Pope's regulation that it must sterilize coffee beans first to clean them from the influence of the devil. Then with the blessing of the Pope, coffee shops spread and became popular drinks in Italy and Europe.

In 1511, a governor banned coffee and closed coffee shops in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The governor believes that coffee stimulates radical thinking and fears coffee can unite the opposition against it. Coffee is considered the same as wine and has a reputation as a strong stimulant.

In addition, coffee is considered to keep men away from night prayers because they prefer to gather and talk at coffee shops, to discuss philosophy and politics. Then, after the Sultan of Cairo who had a higher rank than the governor canceled the regulation, coffee was finally able to be consumed again.

The ban on coffee drinking has also been implemented in Sweden during the leadership of King Gustav III. He sees coffee as a threat to public health and is determined to prove its negative health effects.

He also attempted the death penalty to test how many cups of coffee it takes to kill someone. However, the experiment failed and proved that coffee was not a dangerous drink.

The ban on coffee drinking in Sweden continued until the 1820s, but it never fully succeeded to be obeyed by the public. Until finally the ban on coffee drinking was lifted, coffee became the dominant drink in Sweden, even making Sweden one of the countries with the highest per capita coffee consumption in the world.