An Ode to the History of a Coffee House in 18 Pictures

Turkish coffee. Public Domain

Everybody has one. Your favorite spot to socialize, to recharge or be super productive.

This is an ode to the coffee shop.

It can be a hole in the wall (shout out to the New Yorkers) or, if you’re lucky enough to live in Europe, a beautiful, spacious café. It is your happy place—your home outside of home.

The story of the coffee shop is as interesting as drinking coffee itself. It’s not a coincidence that there’s a term: “coffee culture.” It has been coined for centuries. Let’s appreciate this process for a moment, shall we? Here are some of the most interesting highlights:

1. It all began in Muslim culture between 1511 and 1524.

Storyteller (meddah) at a coffeehouse in the Ottoman Empire. NYPL

 

2. The very first cafe was opened in Damascus in 1530. It would have been similar to this:

The coffee-shop of Cairo in ca 17th century. NYPL

 

A café in Istanbul, 19th century

 

3. It took exactly 99 years for a first coffee house in Europe to appear. It was in the beautiful city of Venice, thanks to a bustling business route between Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

Piazza San Marco , Basilica, Venice, Italy, ca. 1895. Public Domain/Wikipedia Commons

 

4. But, as Europeans quickly realized the potential of coffee houses, they quickly spread all over the continent. Most of them were established by Armenians.

Cafe Griensteidl, Germany, 1897. Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

 

5. England’s first recorded coffee house was set up in Oxford in 1650, in 1652 in London.

Coffeehouse in London, 17th century

 

6. Women were not allowed to step in at that time, which lead to the “Women’s Petition Against Coffee“ published in 1674. 

To Upholsterers, 1876 NYPL

 

7. London coffee houses were nicknamed “Penny Universities,” referring to the price of a cup of coffee, and the conversations to be had with the thinkers of the day, who could be found there.

A 17th-century depiction of a coffee house in London. Public Domain

 

8. England is also where tipping originated. A jar was placed on a counter reading “To Insure Prompt Service.”

London's coffee house. Public Domain

 

9. Allegedly, some men were spending so much of their time in cafes, their mail was delivered there directly. 

At The Authors' Club, New York, 1886 NYPL

 

10. The insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London originated as a coffee house. 

Lloyds coffee house in London, by William Holland. Public Domain

 

11. A French café,  Café Procope, opened in 1686 and is arguably the birthplace of the Encyclopédie, the first modern encyclopedia.

Intérieur d'un café public, sur la place de Top-hané, Paris, 181?, NYPL

George Franz Kolschitzky. Public Domain

 

14. He was also the first one to serve coffee with milk. 

Vienna's first coffee house. Public Domain

 

15. America’s first coffee house was opened in Boston in 1676.

The Cafés of the Paris Exhibition: The American Café (1886), via artsemerson.tumblr.com

 

 

16. For New Yorkers, coffee houses were also places for court trials or council meetings. 

Café of the Democratic Club, showing prominent leaders of the Democratic party and of Tammany Hall, NYC, 1899 NYPL

 

17. During the 19th century, and reaching a peak between the 1st and 2nd world wars in the early 20th century, cafes were important meeting points for many political, literature or art groups. 

"Discussing the War in a Paris Café", The Illustrated London News, 1870. Public Domain

 

18. Café, cafe or coffee house? Different names for same magical place!

Café Lafayette, 1914, New York. NYPL