THE MEINL COFFEE BOY

The little coffee boy logo, originally designed in 1924 by Viennese artist Josef Binder and modernised in 1950 by artist Otto Exinger, combines Turkish Sultanate and Arabic traditions with those of the Baroque Angels of European architecture.

Coffee was brought to Vienna in 1683 by the besieging Turkish army of Pasha Kara Mustafa. The Fez, the red head dress with black tassel, was worn widely in the Turkish lands and was a symbol of the sovereignty of the Sultan, whose center of administration was the "Sublime Porte" in Constantinople, today's Istanbul.

Both the Arab Lands and the Coast of East Africa were among the many regions owing allegiance to the Sultan. Legend claims that coffee originated in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa in AD 850 and that the name derives from the Arabic "qahwah". The Baroque Angels of European architecture combined youthful features with a friendly, winning look.

The little Meinl coffee boy is the quintessence of these ideas and sentiments. The fez was originally a Greek Christian fashion prevalent in the Aegean Islands. It initially derived from the Barbary corsairs. It was manufactured in Austria for the Ottoman Turkish market.

Our company logo, the little coffee boy with a red fez, was created in 1924 by the Viennese artist Joseph Binder. In the 1950s Otto Exinger, chief artist of our graphics department, modernized the symbol.The little coffee boy with red fez is the internationally registered trade mark of the Julius Meinl Group, based in Vienna, Austria.