4 times drinking coffee was illegal--or even punishable by death

Rulers once closed cafés, burned beans, and even executed someone--all for a cup of coffee. A photograph taken in the 1920s shows a group of men gather at a small roadside coffee stall in Cairo, Egypt. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Bach wrote a cantata about it . Scholars, philosophers, and lawyers have argued over it.