The Coffee House: A Cultural History

About this book

When the first coffeehouse opened in London in 1652 customers were bewildered by this strange new drink from Turkeyhot bitter and black as soot. But those who tried coffee were soon won over and more coffee-houses were opened across London America and Europe. For a hundred years the coffeehouse occupied the center of urban life creating a distinctive social culture. They played a key role in the explosion of political financial scientific and literary change in the 18th century as people gathered discussed and debated issues within their walls.