I’ve been reading up some more on Caravaggio and his contemporaries.¬† Apparently, Pope Clement VII was a big fan of coffee, which the church saw as Satanic since it was drunk by the Muslims.¬† (Further medieval logic: Muslims don’t drink wine and therefore cannot partake of the Eucharist and thus are from Satan.)
Anyhoo, Clement the VII found it tasty and baptized coffee so it would be safe for Catholics to drink.  I have yet to find a worthy source for this little tidbit of fact about Pope Clement, so take it with a grain of salt.  It could turn out to be an internet hoax perpetuated by bloggers like me.
