Coffee, coffee houses and history

There have been many legends and stories about the origin of what would now be considered one of the most favoured beverages in the world.

While coffee was first believed to have originated in the Middle East, more recent evidence suggests that the drink's unique properties were first discovered in Ethiopia, and carried from there to Yemen, and thence to the rest of the Arab world. Coffee houses, or cafes as we now know them, had their first customers in Mecca and Cairo, and the history of coffee would not be complete without the extraordinary place that coffee houses occupied in the imagination of people through the ages.

One of the most prolific ages for coffee and coffee houses was the Enlightenment period in Europe, particularly in Western Europe. Coffee houses played host to the giants of theoretical and philosophical thought: coffee houses were the favoured destination for the discussion of politics, law, business and sport. Not unsurprisingly, when the discussion of such weighty matters was at hand, women could hardly be allowed in. Women were banned from coffee houses until the end of the nineteenth century, but this banning was curiously not effected in Germany, while it was strictly enforced in France and England.

Coffee houses were also traditionally seen as an alternative to public houses, or pubs. Coffee houses were the exclusive clubs of the eighteenth and nineteenth century in England, offering a place for discussion and debate but without the debauchery normally associated with pubs. They were an integral part of the temperance movement in Victorian England, when coffee houses were offered as an alternative venue for entertainment to the lower classes, their clientele having hitherto been confined to the lower sort of public house.

Coffee shops in the United States have a slightly different story, having been first owned and operated within the Italian American areas of major cities like New York and San Francisco. Today, however, it would be impossible to think of coffee in the US without the brand name of Starbucks emblazoning itself on one's thought. The advent of big brand coffee companies, whose chain stores are present across the globe and aspire to offer a specific level of quality has radically changed the way the coffee market operates.

Today, drinkers of coffee are not only able to choose from various brands and types of roasts, they are also spoilt for choice with regard to the precise way they would like to drink their coffee. With milk, without milk, skimmed milk, with cream, chocolate syrup, hazelnut essence and whatnot now becoming essential accompaniments to your cuppa, coffee will never be the same again.