The history of coffee is full of twists and turns and meanders through history. One of the threads connected with the introduction of this beverage to European tables is a Pole - Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, whose story seamlessly mixes truth with myths and the making up of legends. However, this does not change the fact that he is universally acknowledged as the one who could start a café business in Vienna.

Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki (also Kólczycki, or in the German version: Georg Franz Kolschitzky) is a nobleman, translator and soldier, whose story is shrouded in a considerable legend and mystery. In addition, the question of his nationality has been the subject of polemics between various researchers for years. Kulczycki, who was probably born in Kulczyce near Sambor, is said to have considered himself a "native Pole". On the other hand, despite the fact that he probably came from the Catholic part of the Kólczycki family, Ukrainian researchers consider him to be Ukrainian. Austrian and Hungarian researchers, on the other hand, attribute Serbian or Austrian nationality (of Polish origin) to him. This uprooting of Kulčytsky has a concrete basis, as we are talking about a figure who made a positive mark on history in various ways.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Kulczycki's early life - he is supposed to have come to Vienna from Serbia and worked as a translator of Turkish and Hungarian, among other languages. During the siege of Vienna in 1683, Kulczycki metamorphosed into a spy - he was supposed to pass through the enemy camp disguised as a Turkish soldier and then make his way to the Duke of Lorraine, Charles V Leopold. Oden received a reply about the impending relief and returned to the besieged city with this information. It was for this reason that the authorities in Vienna were to abandon the surrender of the city to Kara Mustafa. And this, in turn, was linked to the well-known Vienna relief, in which the Polish king Jan III Sobieski took part. It was decided to reward Kulczycki for his courageous mission and thus, in addition to his fame among the Viennese bourgeoisie, he was given the right of burgomaster, a post as imperial Turkish interpreter and a square for the construction of a house. This is where the key element of the Kulczycki myth comes in: after the battle with the Turkish army, according to some accounts John III Sobieski himself is said to have asked Kulczycki what he wanted as a reward. The latter was to choose sacks of coffee beans, which the Viennese considered fodder for camels. This is how Jerzy František Kulczycki founded the first coffee house in Vienna. It was to be called 'Under the Blue Bottle'. Interestingly, according to the story of Kulczycki, at first the coffee was not to the liking of the townspeople - it was bitter and black. Therefore, Kulczycki decided to change its taste a bit, first with honey and sugar, and finally: milk. Vienna, of course, became the café capital of Europe and Kulczycki himself became the patron saint of those in the coffee business.

- the patron saint of those in this business. In addition, he was to open as many as three cafés before his death - first in Singerstrasse, then in Domgasse 6, which disappeared from the city map after just one year; and finally in Schlossergasse - or just "Under the Blue Bottle", which is said to have operated between 1686 and 1696.

It is worth mentioning that in Lviv, for example, there is a statue of Kulczycki, dressed as a Turkish soldier, with coffee beans in his hand. Kulczycki can also be found, for example, on a Viennese mosaic in the

Laxenburger Straße, we can also find - at the intersection of Favoritenstraße and Kolschitzkygasse (!) - a statue of Kulczycki on the corner facade of one of the buildings. Finally, Kulczycki is immortalised in several paintings and engravings, always in Turkish dress, as this is associated with his mission during the siege of Vienna.

So much for the legend, but what about the alternative history? Well, apart from the disputes over Kulczycki's nationality, there is also a counter-story to the 'founding myth', at the centre of which was a Pole. According to an Austrian-Czech scholar, Karl Teply, it was not Kulczycki who opened the first Viennese café, but a certain Johannes Theodat, an Armenian merchant who initiated the "coffee business". But what about Kulczycki? According to Teply, the whole story was supposed to have been concocted by Gottfried Uhlich in 1783 in the journal 'Geschichte der zweyten türkischen Belagerung Wiens, bey der hundertjährigen Gedächtnißfeyer: Mit Kupfern, nebst zweenen Planen'. Moreover, in order to sell coffee, one had to have a permit to do so, and this was probably not obtained by Kulczycki. The first such permit was issued in 1685, and by no means in our hero's name. Unless, of course, he did not have a café as such, but sold coffee as part of, so to speak, street food. Unfortunately, no information survives on this. But it was precisely after Johannes Theodat had opened the café a year later that "Kolschitzky" was also to be granted the privilege of serving coffee, as well as exemption from taxes for 20 years. Unfortunately, nothing is known in terms of documents whether Kulczycki made use of this privilege. Unfortunately, not much later, Theodat himself had to flee Vienna, as he was accused of treason and espionage, which led him to Venice.

So what can we do when a story is full of a mixture of facts, interpretations, understatements and, last but not least, history's deaf ear? We do not know for sure whether it was Kulczycki who opened the first European café in Vienna. What we do know with a high degree of probability is that he may have opened one of the first cafés, where - according to legend - he was said to have served coffee with milk in a style that later evolved into the cappuccino-like "Wiener Melange".

Whichever way we approach these stories, Kulczycki has a real place in Vienna in the form of a statue on a façade or an entire street. Although certain elements of his life may have become surrounded by myth, Kulczycki himself was by no means a legendary figure; at most, there were white spots in his biography that were filled in with stories that were not necessarily completely grounded in reality. Let's also take a look at one way of making the aforementioned Wiener Melange.

The coffee we need should be quite mild, certainly milder than what we would use to make a cappuccino. The drink itself, however, resembles its Italian counterpart in that it is based on brewed coffee and partly foamed milk. Unlike, for example, a latte macchiato, the coffee is not poured into the milk, but first a portion of coffee is poured into the cup and then the foamed milk is added. It is worth mentioning that even in Vienna, when ordering a "Wiener Melange", you can get... Franziskaner coffee, i.e. served with whipped cream. Last but not least, it is not uncommon to use a combination of different frothed milk, so that some of it is a creamy froth (a micro-froth similar to that used for lattes) and some of it is a very frothy foam on top (hence some cafés serve whipped cream on top), which, as in cappuccino, can protrude slightly above the cup, is stiffer and does not melt so easily into the coffee.