A cup of black coffee, strong and bitter, prepared in the old way by decoction. It is the brew that accompanies reading, writing, and philosophical debate, far from the supper wine.

Why this dish? Coffee was the prized drink of Enlightenment intellectuals, and the Café Procope one of their Parisian haunts. Diderot crossed paths with the spirit of the times there; coffee kept the encyclopedists awake over their manuscripts.

Here is the black liquor that kept my pen in hand many a night! They said it dispelled the fumes of wine and made the mind sharp and orderly. Grind your bean very fine, throw it into boiling water, let it yield all its bitterness, then let it rest a moment so the grounds settle. At the Procope, they served cups to all the wits — and I assure you, a page of the Encyclopédie was polished better under its goad.

How it was made : In the 18th century, coffee was mainly prepared by decoction or infusion in a tin or copper coffee pot, with the grounds settling at the bottom. The Café Procope, opened in Paris at the end of the 17th century, became a major social hub for men of letters.

The contemporary twist : Serve it in a small cup set on a saucer with a square of dark chocolate: the bitterness of the Enlightenment and that of cocoa echo each other.

Sources : Histoire du Café Procope, Paris

Denis Diderot · Charactorium