With the tragedy that’s happening in Palestine over the past few weeks, many have taken the initiative to boycott any international brand that is in support of Israel. Thankfully for Malaysians, we have tons of alternatives for these products and many were surprised that some of these brands are actually locally-owned.
One of the brands listed was ZUS Coffee. However, this then led to a debate on whether Muslims should consume the beverages after learning that the brand might be related to the Greek God Zeus.
Over the weekend, Malaysian netizens took to Twitter to discuss whether they should buy ZUS Coffee after learning that the brand’s name and logo could be inspired by the Greek God of Thunder, Zeus. Some Muslim netizens warned other Muslims that it’s probably best to stay away from the coffee brand as they fear purchasing their beverages could be seen as a sign of worshipping another God.
Others, however, argued that the brand has nothing to do with the Greek God and even if it did, it shouldn’t stop Muslims from simply enjoying a cup of coffee from the establishment as there are other local and international brands that have used religious or mythological inspiration for their names and products. So now begs the question: was ZUS Coffee actually inspired by Zeus? Thankfully, one netizen provided more information on that matter.
In a tweet by Fadzli Nasir, he pointed out that ZUS Coffee’s logo, which he thought was inspired by the Greek God, was actually the image of Kaldi or Khalid, a legendary Arab Ethiopian goatherd who discovered the coffee plant around 850 Common Era (CE). This information is backed up by an article in 2019 when ZUS Coffee first launched. In the article, it was said the company wanted to pay tribute to Kaldi, who was said to have brewed the first-ever coffee.
Agak menarik ya tentang figure dalam logo Zus Coffee ni. Selama ni ingat Zus amik dari Zeus, iaitu salah satu dewa greek rupanya adalah Kaldi, salah seorang pengembala kambing gunung Ethiopia yg menemukan biji kopi.
Rupanya Zus sendiri ada cakap benda ni kat web diorang.
Dan… pic.twitter.com/EpjFQmjKz7
— Fadzli Nasir (@wolfipali) October 28, 2023
As for the name ZUS Coffee, it was said that was derived from the words, “Zealous” and “Us”, which represents the brand’s collective passion for those who championed the cause, according to KiniHalal. If you look at the brand’s Instagram page, you’ll notice a lightning imagery in some of the posts and there’s even the lightning emoji in their bio, which is associated to Zeus.
So did ZUS Coffee change their branding over the years or has this always been the case? Regardless, we agree that enjoying a cup of coffee should not waver one’s faith but to each their own. What do you think?
