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Let’s meet up for coffee and gossip: the origins of Coffee houses (or café).

Coffee houses in the Arab world

Today’s café owe their origins to the Arabs. In ancient times, throughout the Arab World, coffee houses were very widespread. They were luxurious places where music, entertainment, and gossip would be enjoyed and business conducted. It goes without saying that these places were forbidden to women. Later on, coffee houses became centres of political activity and debates. Then, claiming that they were against Islamic laws, governors banned coffee houses as a measure to prevent political turmoil and plotting against the ruling power.
Coffee houses however were not just a prerogative of the Ottoman Empire, Europe also had quite a few of them. As a matter of fact, Europeans could travel all the way to Constantinople and along the Adriatic sea without having to renounce to their cup of coffee. As a result, true origins where the first coffee house claimed to be opened, outside the borders of the Ottoman Empire, remains a mystery.

Coffee houses conquer Europe.

Italian researchers studying the history of coffee houses in western world, state that the first one to open in Europe was in Venice. French experts maintain that during the same period, a coffee house was also opened in Marseilles. Whereas, the English cynically dismiss any of the above theories and affirm that coffee appeared for the first time among the drinks lists in pubs in Oxford.

Whatever the theory, what is certain is that coffee became popular and widespread all over Europe. As it is often the case, coffee’s extreme popularity brought rise to coffee-opponents. What happened in the Arab World replicated itself in Europe. Christian priests condemned coffee, claiming the drink had a devilish black colour and peculiar effects on drinkers. In London, coffee aversion culminated in a group of women drafting a petition which stated that coffee was to be blamed for “male sterility”; on the other extreme there were those who firmly believed in the pharmacological effects of coffee, and viewed coffee as first a drug and secondly as a drink.
Also in Europe coffee houses became meeting places. London cafés were the first to provide newspapers to their clients, a move which attracted intellectuals and students willing to gather and discuss current affairs and trends affecting society. Thus, what started as innocent discussions evolved in to critical, political-tinged debates. Once again, history repeated. The authorities felt threatened, and condemned coffee houses as having a bad influence on the masses. It was thus decided to shut coffee houses down by imposing very high taxes on the dark brew. As a result, coffee demand in England declined; the same however could not be said of France.


In Paris

Thanks to the Turkish Ambassador Sulejman, who was known for organizing sumptuous banquets for the noble class where coffee starred as the main delicatessen, the drink always enjoyed among Parisians with a special reputation. People truly loved the dark drink, however, this was not enough to turn the trade in coffee into a successful business. The first attempts to launch coffee into the market were barely positive. Coffee consumption reached its peak in popularity following the opening of elegant and very sophisticated cafés in Paris where, by sipping the dark drink, clients truly felt the privileges of their noble status. It is estimated that, towards the end of the XVIII century, the number of cafés in Paris rose from 800 to an astonishing 3.000 by the end of the XIX century. This just makes us wonder, how many cafés are there in Paris nowadays?

In Germany

In Germany, the first café was opened in Hamburg in an attempt to imitate the English. Throughout the fist decades of the XVIII century, coffee drinking was a privilege of the wealthy class, which lived in big cities. As for the rest of Europe, the situation gradually changed so that by the XVIII century coffee drinking had became part of the German family life-style. Once again, authorities took action. The reason behind it is easily explained: the popularity of coffee meant that beer consumption decreased which in turn caused a rift the economy. Coffee traders and sellers were mostly foreigners, thus German authorities also opted for heavy taxation; moreover, a special police section was set up with the aim of investigating and eliminating any clandestine coffee-brewing activity.
However, it is not by chance that Germans are renown for their resourcefulness. In order to avoid paying a fortune to enjoy a cup of coffee, they invented their own home-made recipe: by roasting chicory roots and grounding them, they produced a similar, yet distinctively different drink to coffee, yet still pleasant.

In Wien

The story of how coffee was introduced in Wien is rather interesting. You might recall having heard of it during one of your school history classes. One of the results of the victory over Turkish soldiers in 1683 was the introduction of coffee to Wien. It is alleged that Polish troops armour in the shape of swan wings caught Turkish troops by surprise, and caused them to panic and flee the battle field. The outnumbered Polish viewed the winged talisman as protection against back luck, and serendipitously this talisman instilled fear in the hearts of the Turks, who were scared off. Legend claims that, while fleeing, the Turks left behind all their riches: gold, carpets, camels and many sacks containing previously unknown black beans: coffee. Different legends tell different stories. However, what is certain is that coffee made its appearance in Central Europe following the battle of 1683.

More informations:
Coffee trading  •  Coffee

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