When meeting a potential daughter-in-law, families would carefully assess how skillfully she brewed and served coffee. Meanwhile she would slip salt instead of sugar into her prospective bridegroom’s cup, and if he managed to keep a polite expression while drinking, it was considered a sign that he was even-tempered. The importance of coffee even extended to the wedding ceremony, where the groom had to promise to provide his new wife with coffee. If he failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce.
“Grounds for divorce.” Nice one.
