10 Coffee Superstitions To Know Of This Spooky Season

Autumn is one of the most beloved times of the year, isn't it? Scatters of golden leaves are starting to pile up, the air bites just a touch more with each passing day, and an exciting holiday is approaching — Halloween. It's the pinnacle of fall and our opportunity to flex our creative muscles through costumes, whether silly or spooky, fictional or historical.

The season of gray skies, fallen leaves, and Halloween feels like the ideal time for scary stories, lore, and superstitions. It seems that no food group is untouched by superstition: Some cultures have a set New Year's Day menu to ensure good fortune, Queen Elizabeth I believed that hot cross buns should be eaten on Easter and Christmas, and a number of countries have their own beliefs and folklore surrounding coffee. While many coffee superstitions only live in tradition and history, not modern practice, they make for some uncanny, mysterious stories to share over a hot pot of joe while the ghostly wind blows outside.

According to folklore in Turkey, if you want your male offspring to have a thick, luscious crop of facial hair once they're grown, you should discourage them from drinking coffee in their prepubescent days. The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism explains that, as the superstition goes, a young Turkish boy who consumes the black nectar will be woefully without a beard or mustache in adulthood.

In actuality, the jury still seems to be out on whether or not coffee has an impact — good or bad — on hair growth. Some say caffeine stops hair growth (via Unique Hair Concepts), and others argue that caffeine will actually elongate the hair follicle and lead to thicker, healthier hair, per The Hair Fuel. This seems like a classic case of confirmation bias, but if you abide by the old Turkish superstition, nary a drop of the good stuff should be consumed by a male preteen if he wants majestic facial hair.

If you ever visit a sailor's house and notice a mug that appears to have years' worth of coffee layers in it, whatever you do, don't toss it in the sink to soak. That thick coat of brownish coffee grime may hold little appeal to you, but to members of the U.S. Navy, it's just good seasoning. Military Times says that an old superstition in the community of sailors, especially those who served as a chief rank or higher, dictates that members must not wash their coffee mugs ... like, ever.

Interestingly enough, there are conflicting reasons as to why the superstition exists or what misfortune will happen to a sailor who dares to scrub his cup. It may be bad luck, Military Times states, or a sign of seniority in ranking. Some sailors insist the caked-on residue enhances the coffee's taste, and others will even pour fresh coffee on top of the cold, stagnated leftovers from their last cup of the previous day. No one, not even sailors, seems to be able to explain exactly why this happens. However, one thing is abundantly clear: If you visit a U.S. Navy member or veteran and notice a grubby coffee mug, don't bat an eye — surely they have a clean one on hand to serve you coffee in.

It takes just a glance into the grounds left over in the bottom of a coffee mug to know what the future holds — or, at least, that's what coffee superstitions from many cultures, including Greece and the Dominican Republic, say. According to the Greek Reporter, tradition says that young men would seek answers about their future careers, and people often hoped to hear if financial success was in their cards. The old superstition also believed that a young, unmarried girl would visit a coffee grounds fortune teller to find out if she has a future husband waiting for her out there. Unfortunately, this came with the rumor that, if you are a young bachelorette resorting to a coffee ground reading for your marital prospects, you were likely already having difficulties finding a spouse.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, Dominican culture held a similar reverence for the prophetic properties of spent coffee grounds. Locals paid a visit to brujas and brujos — witches or sorcerers — to have their futures foretold through the muddled grounds left in the bottom of a mug, per Una Vaina Bien Spanish. In the same visit, those fortune seekers might also ask the bruja to cast spells upon their love interests and enemies ... spooky.

Coffee has a long history in Turkey, dating back to the 16th century when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent introduced the famed Turkish method of brewing coffee (via Whole Latte Love). International Coffee Day is celebrated annually on October 1, so it seems only fitting to discuss Turkish coffee preparation rituals and the superstition that connects coffee and friendship. For a long time, coffee houses in Turkey were a place where men went to socialize and make friends, explains the Hurriyet Daily News, and even within the home, women gathered to share coffee and heartfelt conversations. It was a symbol of camaraderie and trust.

So strong was the Turkish connection between shared words over a hot cup of java and the resulting friendship that an old proverb emerged: "A single cup of coffee is remembered for 40 years." This superstition suggests that quality time connected by coffee has the power to ignite lifelong friendships and demonstrates the significance of inviting someone into your home for coffee.

Iceland's coffee superstition has to do with dashing good looks. One of the country's superstitions states that drinking a steamy mug of coffee will steal away someone's beauty, according to The Reykjavik Grapevine. Even in a country with relatively mild temps year-round (via Guide to Iceland), you might want to avoid anything warmer than ice-cold coffee.

In fact, Icelandic folklore seems to be very nervous about coffee overall: Putting the sugar in before cream means you will be without a spouse for another seven years if you're unmarried, and if you dare to put two spoons in your coffee mug, chaos will ensue. Different superstitions say this means you could end up hosting or being invited to a party, attending a baptism, having twins, or becoming secretly engaged. Yes, chaos. A mismatched cup and saucer means you'll either marry twice or have an affair. If that hasn't scared you away from drinking coffee in Iceland, just know that if your coffee has bubbles and you sip them, you are likely to become wealthy.