A most amazing story was being discovered, most properly in some
archive. It certainly put a different view on the English nation only known for
tea.
The first of the coffee houses was opened in London in 1652 and with
such the coffee house history began. Coffee was introduced to Europe in the
16th century. It is an amazing eye opener because so far everyone had the
impression they were the invention of America.
These coffee houses became very quickly popular for being convenient
places to discuss businesses, read newspapers, exchange literary and discuss
political issues.
The boys called 'Potboys' who were serving the coffee. Potboys were kept
busy serving cups of coffee to periwigged gentlemen. These gentlemen shared
market news and the latest gossip in these coffee houses which became a
fashionable novelty.
Soon coffee houses sprang up in most of the cities in Europe by the late
17th century.
Lloyd's coffee house which opened in 1680 is especially historical
because it became the centre of maritime insurance.
1689 the coffee houses reached the American colonies. The Merchants
Coffee House in New York got a place in history because it was there that
political ideas were exchanged and in years to come these ideas were leading up
to the American War of Independence.
By the mid 18th century the importance of these houses started to slow
down. One reason was that in England gentleman's clubs took over and all of
those activities went there. The other reason was that special exchanges
established themselves for commercial activities.
England changes to tea drinking when Mr Fortune stole and smuggled
plants out of China to India. However, the whole continent stayed mostly with
drinking coffee, including the USA.
It is always a shame and great
loss that no recording of the conversations and unusual happenings were
made. Details of the every day life, in
some respect, are often more interesting than the overall written history.
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