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A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso,
latte Caffè latte (), often shortened to just latte () in English, is a coffee beverage of Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk. Variants include the chocolate-flavored mocha or replacing the coffee with another beverage base such as ma ...
, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caffeinated beverages. In continental Europe, cafés serve alcoholic drinks. A coffeehouse may also serve food, such as light snacks, sandwiches,
muffin A muffin is an individually portioned baked product, however the term can refer to one of two distinct items: a part-raised flatbread (like a crumpet) that is baked and then cooked on a griddle (typically unsweetened), or an (often sweetened) ...
s, fruit, or pastries. Coffeehouses range from owner-operated small businesses to large multinational corporations. Some coffeehouse chains operate on a franchise business model, with numerous branches across various countries around the world. While ''café'' may refer to a coffeehouse, the term "café" generally refers to a
diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...
, British café (colloquially called a "caff"), " greasy spoon" (a small and inexpensive restaurant), transport café, teahouse or tea room, or other casual eating and drinking place. A coffeehouse may share some of the same characteristics of a bar or restaurant, but it is different from a
cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...
. Many coffeehouses in the Middle East and in West Asian immigrant districts in the Western world offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile'' in Levantine Arabic, Greek and
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
), flavored tobacco smoked through a
hookah A hookah (Hindustani language, Hindustani: (Nastaleeq), (Devanagari), IPA: ; also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco ...
. An espresso bar is a type of coffeehouse that specializes in serving espresso and espresso-based drinks. From a cultural standpoint, coffeehouses largely serve as centers of social interaction: a coffeehouse provides patrons with a place to congregate, talk, read, write, entertain one another, or pass the time, whether individually or in small groups. Since the popularization of Wi-Fi, coffeehouses with this capability have also become places for patrons to access the Internet on their laptops and tablet computers. A coffeehouse can serve as an informal club for its regular members. As early as the 1950s
Beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...
era and the 1960s folk music scene, coffeehouses have hosted singer-songwriter performances, typically in the evening.


Etymology

The most common English spelling ''café'', is the French, Portuguese, and Spanish spelling, and was adopted by English-speaking countries in the late 19th century. The Italian spelling, ''caffè'', is also sometimes used in English. In Southern England, especially around London in the 1950s, the French pronunciation was often facetiously altered to and spelt ''caff''. The English words ''coffee'' and ''café'' derive from the Italian word for coffee, ''caffè''—first attested as ''caveé'' in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
in 1570—and in turn derived from Arabic ''qahwa'' (). The Arabic term ''qahwa'' originally referred to a type of wine, but after the wine ban by
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, the name was transferred to coffee because of the similar rousing effect it induced. European knowledge of coffee (the plant, its seeds, and the drink made from the seeds) came through European contact with Turkey, likely via Venetian-Ottoman trade relations. The English word ''café'' to describe a restaurant that usually serves coffee and snacks rather than the word coffee that describes the drink, is derived from the French ''café.'' The first café in France is believed to have opened in 1660. The first café in Europe is believed to have been opened in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Serbia in 1522 as a Kafana ( Serbian coffee house). The
translingual Translingual phenomena are words and other aspects of language that are relevant in more than one language. Thus "translingual" may mean "existing in multiple languages" or "having the same meaning in many languages"; and sometimes "containing word ...
word root /kafe/ appears in many European languages with various naturalized spellings, including Portuguese, Spanish, and French (''café''); German (''Kaffee'');
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
(''kawa'');
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
(''кафа / kafa'');
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
(''кава'', 'kava'); and others.


History


Islamic world

The first coffeehouses in the
Islamic world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
, ''qahveh khaneh'' (Persian for coffee house), appeared in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
. These Ottoman coffeehouses also appeared in Mecca, in the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
in the 15th century, then spread to the Ottoman Empire's capital of Istanbul in the 16th century. Coffeehouses became popular meeting places where people gathered to drink coffee, have conversations, play board games such as chess and backgammon, listen to stories and music, and discuss news and politics. They became known as "schools of wisdom" for the type of clientele they attracted, and their free and frank discourse. Coffeehouses in Mecca became a concern of
imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
s who viewed them as places for political gatherings and drinking, leading to bans between 1512 and 1524. However, these bans could not be maintained, due to coffee becoming ingrained in daily ritual and culture across the Islamic world. The Ottoman chronicler İbrahim Peçevi reports in his writings (1642–49) about the opening of the first coffeehouse in Istanbul: Various legends involving the introduction of coffee to Istanbul at a "Kiva Han" in the late 15th century circulate in culinary tradition, but with no documentation. The 17th century French traveler and writer Jean Chardin gave a lively description of the Persian coffeehouse scene:


Europe

In the 17th century, coffee appeared for the first time in Europe outside the Ottoman Empire, and coffeehouses were established, soon becoming increasingly popular. The first coffeehouses is said to have appeared in 1632 in
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
by a Jewish merchant, or later in 1640, in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. In the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe, coffeehouses were very often meeting points for writers and artists.


England

The first coffeehouse in England was set up in Oxford in 1650–1651 by "Jacob the Jew". A second competing coffee house was opened across the street in 1654, by "Cirques Jobson, the Jew" (
Queen's Lane Coffee House Queen's Lane Coffee House is a historic coffee house established by Cirques Jobson, a Levantine Jew from Syria. Dating back to 1654, it claims to be the oldest continually serving coffee house in Europe although, it has only been on the present ...
). In London, the earliest coffeehouse was established by Pasqua Rosée in 1652. Anthony Wood observed of the coffee houses of Oxford in his ''Life and Times'' (1674) "The decay of study, and consequently of learning, are coffee houses, to which most scholars retire and spend much of the day in hearing and speaking of news". The proprietor was Pasqua Rosée, the servant of a trader in goods from the Ottoman Empire named Daniel Edwards, who imported the coffee and assisted Rosée in setting up the establishment there. From 1670 to 1685, the number of London coffeehouses began to increase, and they also began to gain political importance due to their popularity as places of debate. English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries were significant meeting places, particularly in London. By 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England. Coffeehouses were also known as "penny universities" because of the crowd that they attracted. Scholars and students alike were regulars, and anyone with a penny could enter and sit in on a lecture or have access to books or print news. Coffeehouses boosted the popularity of print news culture and helped the growth of various financial markets including insurance, stocks, and auctions. Though Charles II later tried to suppress London coffeehouses as "places where the disaffected met, and spread scandalous reports concerning the conduct of His Majesty and his Ministers", the public still flocked to them. For several decades following the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
, the Wits gathered around John Dryden at Will's Coffee House, in Russell Street,
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
. As coffeehouses were believed to be areas where anti-government gossip could easily spread, Queen Mary and the London City magistrates tried to prosecute people who frequent coffeehouses as they were liable to "spread false and seditious reports".
William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
's privy council also suppressed
Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
sympathizers in the 1680s and 1690s in coffeehouses as these were the places that they believed harbored plotters against the regimes. The coffeehouses were great social levelers, open to all men and indifferent to social status, and as a result associated with equality and republicanism. The rich intellectual atmosphere of early London coffeehouses were available to anyone who could pay the sometimes one penny entry fee, giving them the name of 'Penny Universities'. More generally, coffeehouses became meeting places where business could be carried on, news exchanged and the ''
London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
'' (government announcements) read. Lloyd's of London had its origins in a coffeehouse run by Edward Lloyd, where underwriters of ship insurance met to do business. By 1739, there were 551 coffeehouses in London; each attracted a particular clientele divided by occupation or attitude, such as Tories and Whigs, wits and stockjobbers, merchants and lawyers, booksellers and authors, men of fashion or the "cits" of the old city center. According to one French visitor, Antoine François Prévost, coffeehouses, "where you have the right to read all the papers for and against the government", were the "seats of English liberty".
Jonathan's Coffee House Jonathan's Coffee House was a significant meeting place in London in the 17th and 18th centuries, famous as the original site of the London Stock Exchange. The coffee house was opened around 1680 by Jonathan Miles in Change (or Exchange) Al ...
in 1698 saw the listing of stock and commodity prices that evolved into the London Stock Exchange.
Lloyd's Coffee House A 19th-century drawing of Lloyd's Coffee House Lloyd's Coffee House was a significant meeting place in London in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was opened by Edward Lloyd (c. 1648 – 15 February 1713) on Tower Street in 1686. The establis ...
provided the venue for merchants and shippers to discuss insurance deals, leading to the establishment of Lloyd's of London insurance market, the Lloyd's Register classification society, and other related businesses. Auctions in salesrooms attached to coffeehouses provided the start for the great auction houses of Sotheby's and
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
. In
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
England, the temperance movement set up coffeehouses (also known as coffee taverns) for the working classes, as a place of relaxation free of alcohol, an alternative to the public house.


France

Pasqua Rosée, an Armenian by the name Harutiun Vartian, also established the first coffeehouse in Paris in 1672 and held a citywide coffee monopoly until
Procopio Cutò Procopio Cutò, also known as Francesco Procopio Cutò, Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, or François Procope () was a chef from Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily.Portinari Billing himself as a modern Procopius, he founded in 1686 what has become the olde ...
, his apprentice, opened the Café Procope in 1686. This coffeehouse still exists today and was a popular meeting place of the French
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
; Voltaire, Rousseau, and Denis Diderot frequented it, and it is arguably the birthplace of the '' Encyclopédie'', the first modern encyclopedia.


Wallachia

In 1667, Kara Hamie, a former Ottoman Janissary from Constantinople, opened the first coffee shop in Bucharest (then the capital of the
Principality of Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
), in the center of the city, where today sits the main building of the National Bank of Romania.


Austria

The traditional tale of the origins of the Viennese café begins with the mysterious sacks of green beans left behind when the Turks were defeated in the
Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
in 1683. All the sacks of coffee were granted to the victorious Polish king Jan III Sobieski, who in turn gave them to one of his officers,
Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki of the Sas coat of arms (german: Georg Franz Kolschitzky, uk, Юрій-Франц Кульчицький, translit=Yurii-Frants Kulchytskyi; 1640 – February 19, 1694) was a Polish nobleman, diplomat, and spy during t ...
, a Ukrainian cossack and Polish diplomat of Ruthenian descent. Kulczycki, according to the tale, then began the first coffeehouse in Vienna with the hoard, also being the first to serve coffee with milk. There is a statue of Kulczycki on a street also named after him. However, it is now widely accepted that the first Viennese coffeehouse was actually opened by an Armenian merchant named Johannes Diodato (Asdvadzadur). Johannes Diodato (also known as Johannes Theodat) opened a registered coffeehouse in Vienna in 1685.Teply, Karl: Die Einführung des Kaffees in Wien. Verein für Geschichte der Stadt Wien, Wien 1980, Vol. 6. p. 104. cited in: Seibel, Anna Maria: Die Bedeutung der Griechen für das wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Leben in Wien. p. 94 online available under
Othes.univie.ac.at

pdf
Fifteen years later, four other Armenians owned coffeehouses. The culture of drinking coffee was itself widespread in the country in the second half of the 18th century. Over time, a special coffee house culture developed in
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
Vienna. On the one hand, writers, artists, musicians, intellectuals, bon vivants and their financiers met in the coffee house, and on the other hand, new coffee varieties were always served. In the coffee house, people played cards or chess, worked, read, thought, composed, discussed, argued, observed and just chatted. A lot of information was also obtained in the coffee house, because local and foreign newspapers were freely available to all guests. This form of coffee house culture spread throughout the Habsburg Empire in the 19th century. Scientific theories, political plans but also artistic projects were worked out and discussed in Viennese coffee houses all over Central Europe. James Joyce even enjoyed his coffee in a Viennese coffee house on the Adriatic in Trieste, then and now the main port for coffee and coffee processing in Italy and Central Europe. From there, the Viennese Kapuziner coffee developed into today's world-famous cappuccino. This special multicultural atmosphere of the Habsburg coffee houses was largely destroyed by the later National Socialism and Communism and can only be found today in a few places that have long been in the slipstream of history, such as Vienna or Trieste.


Italy

During the 18th century, the oldest extant coffeehouses in Italy were established: Caffè Florian in Venice,
Antico Caffè Greco The Antico Caffè Greco (; sometimes simply referred to as ''Caffè Greco'') is a historic landmark café which opened in 1760 on Via dei Condotti in Rome, Italy. It is the oldest bar in Rome and second oldest in Italy, after Caffè Florian in ...
in Rome,
Caffè Pedrocchi Italians are well known for their special attention to the preparation, the selection of the blends, and the use of accessories when creating many types of coffees. Many of the types of coffee preparation known today also have their roots here ...
in Padua,
Caffè dell'Ussero Italians are well known for their special attention to the preparation, the selection of the blends, and the use of accessories when creating many types of coffees. Many of the types of coffee preparation known today also have their roots here ...
in
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
and
Caffè Fiorio The Caffè Fiorio is a historic café in Turin, northern Italy, located at Via Po 8. Founded in 1780, Fiorio became a fashionable meeting place for the artistic, intellectual and political classes of the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Frequ ...
in Turin.


Hungary

The first known cafes in
Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...
date back to
1714 Events January–March * January 21 – After being tricked into deserting a battle against India's Mughal Empire by the rebel Sayyid brothers, Prince Azz-ud-din Mirza is blinded on orders of the Emperor Farrukhsiyar as punishment. * Feb ...
when a house intended to serve as a Cafe (Balázs Kávéfőző) was purchased. Minutes of the Pest City Council from 1729 mention complaints by the Balázs cafe and Franz Reschfellner Cafe against the Italian-originated cafe of Francesco Bellieno for selling underpriced coffee.


Ireland

In the 18th century, Dublin coffeehouses functioned as early reading centers and the emergence of circulation and subscription libraries that provided greater access to printed material for the public. The interconnectivity of the coffeehouse and virtually every aspect of the print trade were evidenced by the incorporation of printing, publishing, selling, and viewing of newspapers, pamphlets and books on the premises, most notably in the case of
Dick's Coffee House Dick's Coffee House was a significant Irish coffeehouse in the 17th and 18th century. Dick's was one of Dublin's most famous and long lasting coffeehouses, established by Richard Pue in the late 17th century, at some point before July 1698. Pue ...
, owned by Richard Pue; thus contributing to a culture of reading and increased literacy. These coffeehouses were a social magnet where different strata of society came together to discuss topics covered by the newspapers and pamphlets. Most coffeehouses of the 18th century would eventually be equipped with their own printing presses or incorporate a book shop. Today, the term ''café'' is used for most coffeehouses - this can be spelled both with and without an
acute accent The acute accent (), , is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts. For the most commonly encountered uses of the accent in the Latin and Greek alphabets, precomposed ch ...
, but is always pronounced as two syllables. The name café has also come to be used for a type of diners that offers cooked meals (again, without alcoholic beverages) which can be standalone or operating within in shopping centres or department stores. In Irish usage, the presence or absence of the acute accent does not signify the type of establishment (coffeehouse versus diner), and is purely a decision by the owner: for instance, the two largest diner-style café chains in Ireland during in the 1990s were named "Kylemore Cafe" and " Bewley’s Café" - i.e., one written without, and one with, the acute accent.


Switzerland

In 1761 the Turm Kaffee, a shop for exported goods, was opened in St. Gallen.


Gender

The exclusion of women from coffeehouses was not universal, but does appear to have been common in Europe. In Germany, women frequented them, but in England and France they were banned.
Émilie du Châtelet Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French natural philosopher and mathematician from the early 1730s until her death due to complications during childbirth in 1749. ...
purportedly
cross-dressed Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...
to gain entrance to a coffeehouse in Paris. In a well-known engraving of a Parisian café c. 1700, the gentlemen hang their hats on pegs and sit at long communal tables strewn with papers and writing implements. Coffee pots are ranged at an open fire, with a hanging cauldron of boiling water. The only woman present presides, separated in a canopied booth, from which she serves coffee in tall cups.


Contemporary

In most European countries, such as Spain, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, Portugal, and others, the term ''café'' means a restaurant primarily serving coffee, as well as pastries such as cakes, tarts, pies, or buns. Many cafés also serve light meals such as sandwiches. European cafés often have tables on the pavement (sidewalk) as well as indoors. Some cafés also serve alcoholic drinks (e.g., wine), particularly in Southern Europe. In the Netherlands and Belgium, a ''café'' is the equivalent of a bar, and also sells alcoholic drinks. In the Netherlands a ''koffiehuis'' serves coffee, while a coffee shop (using the English term) sells "soft" drugs ( cannabis and
hashish Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...
) and is generally not allowed to sell alcoholic drinks. In France, most cafés serve as lunch restaurants in the day, and bars in the evening. They generally do not have pastries except in the mornings, when a croissant or pain au chocolat can be purchased with breakfast coffee. In Italy, cafés are similar to those found in France and known as ''bar''. They typically serve a variety of espresso coffee, cakes and alcoholic drinks. Bars in city centers usually have different prices for consumption at the bar and consumption at a table.


Americas


Argentina

Coffeehouses are part of the culture of Buenos Aires and the customs of its inhabitants. They are traditional meeting places for 'porteños' and have inspired innumerable artistic creations. Some notable coffeehouses include
Confitería del Molino The Confitería del Molino ( es, The Mill) is an historical Art Nouveau style '' confitería'' ( coffeehouse) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in front of the Palace of the National Congress and the Congressional Plaza, on the intersection of ...
, Café Tortoni, El Gato Negro,
Café La Biela Café La Biela (in English: The Connecting-rod Café) is a traditional café in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires, Argentina situated at 600 Quintana Avenue on the corner of Junin street, opposite the church of Nuestra Senora del Pilar and t ...
.


United States

The first coffeehouse in America opened in Boston, in 1676. However, Americans did not start choosing coffee over tea until the Boston Tea Party and the Revolutionary War. After the Revolutionary War, Americans momentarily went back to drinking tea until after the War of 1812 when they began importing high-quality coffee from Latin America and expensive inferior-quality tea from American shippers instead of Great Britain. Whether they were drinking coffee or tea, coffeehouses served a similar purpose that they did in Great Britain as places where business was done. In the 1780s, Merchant's Coffee House located on Wall Street in New York City was home to the organization of the Bank of New York and the
New York Chamber of Commerce The New York Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1768 by twenty New York City merchants. As the first such commercial organization in the United States, it attracted the participation of a number of New York's most influential business leaders, in ...
. Coffeehouses in the United States arose from the espresso- and pastry-centered Italian coffeehouses of the Italian American immigrant communities in the major U.S. cities, notably New York City's Little Italy and Greenwich Village, Boston's North End, and San Francisco's North Beach. From the late 1950s onward, coffeehouses also served as a venue for entertainment, most commonly folk performers during the
American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...
. Both Greenwich Village and North Beach became major haunts of the Beats, who were highly identified with these coffeehouses. As the youth culture of the 1960s evolved, non-Italians consciously copied these coffeehouses. The political nature of much of 1960s folk music made the music a natural tie-in with coffeehouses with their association with political action. A number of well-known performers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan began their careers performing in coffeehouses.
Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
singer Lightnin' Hopkins bemoaned his woman's inattentiveness to her domestic situation due to her overindulgence in coffeehouse socializing in his 1969 song "Coffeehouse Blues". In 1966,
Alfred Peet Alfred H. Peet (March 10, 1920 – August 29, 2007) was a Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea in Berkeley, California, in 1966. Peet is widely credited with starting the specialty coffee revolution in the US. Am ...
began applying the dark roast style to high quality beans and opened up a small shop in Berkeley, California to educate customers on the virtues of good coffee. Starting in 1967 with the opening of the historic
Last Exit on Brooklyn The Last Exit on Brooklyn was a Seattle University District coffeehouse established in 1967 by Irv Cisski. It is known for its part in the history of Seattle's counterculture, for its pioneering role in establishing Seattle's coffee culture, ...
coffeehouse, Seattle became known for its thriving countercultural coffeehouse scene; the
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
chain later standardized and mainstreamed this espresso bar model. From the 1960s through the mid-1980s, churches and individuals in the United States used the coffeehouse concept for outreach. They were often storefronts and had names like ''The Lost Coin'' (Greenwich Village), ''The Gathering Place'' (Riverside, CA), ''Catacomb Chapel'' (New York City), and ''Jesus For You'' (Buffalo, NY). Christian music (often guitar-based) was performed, coffee and food was provided, and Bible studies were convened as people of varying backgrounds gathered in a casual setting that was purposefully different from traditional churches. An out-of-print book, published by the ministry of David Wilkerson, titled, ''A Coffeehouse Manual'', served as a guide for Christian coffeehouses, including a list of name suggestions for coffeehouses. They are popular to this day with coffeehouses such as
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
seeming to be on every corner of streets in several major American cities including Los Angeles and Seattle.


Format

Cafés may have an outdoor section (terrace, pavement or sidewalk café) with seats, tables and parasols. This is especially the case with European cafés. Cafés offer a more open public space compared to many of the traditional pubs they have replaced, which were more male dominated with a focus on drinking alcohol. One of the original uses of the café, as a place for information exchange and communication, was reintroduced in the 1990s with the Internet café or
Hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tra ...
. The spread of modern-style cafés to urban and rural areas went hand-in-hand with the rising use of mobile computers. Computers and Internet access in a contemporary-styled venue help to create a youthful, modern place, compared to the traditional pubs or old-fashioned
diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...
s that they replaced.


Middle East and Asia

In the Middle East, the coffeehouse ( ar, مقهى ''maqha''; fa, قهوه خانه ''qahveh-khaneh''; tr, kahvehane or ''kırâthane'') serves as an important social gathering place for men. Men assemble in coffeehouses to drink coffee (usually
Arabic coffee Arabic coffee is a version of the brewed coffee of ''Coffea arabica'' beans. Most Arab countries throughout the Middle East have developed distinct methods for brewing and preparing coffee. Cardamom is an often-added spice, but it can alternative ...
) and tea. In addition, men go there to listen to music, read books, play chess and backgammon, watch TV and enjoy other social activities around the Arab world and in Turkey.
Hookah A hookah (Hindustani language, Hindustani: (Nastaleeq), (Devanagari), IPA: ; also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco ...
(shisha) is traditionally served as well. Coffeehouses in Egypt are colloquially called ''ahwah'' , which is the dialectal pronunciation of ''qahwah'' (literally "coffee") (see also Arabic phonology#Local variations). Also commonly served in ''ahwah'' are tea (''shāy'') and herbal teas, especially the highly popular hibiscus blend ( Egyptian Arabic: ''karkadeh'' or ''ennab''). The first ''ahwah'' opened around the 1850s and were originally patronized mostly by older people, with youths frequenting but not always ordering. There were associated by the 1920s with clubs ( Cairo), ''bursa'' ( Alexandria) and ''gharza'' (rural inns). In the early 20th century, some of them became crucial venues for political and social debates. In India, coffee culture has expanded in the past twenty years. Chains like Indian Coffee House, Café Coffee Day,
Barista Lavazza Barista is a chain of espresso bars and cafes that operates in the Indian subcontinent. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India, and maintains outlets across India, and in other regional countries such as Sri Lanka, and Maldives. It is the olde ...
have become very popular. Cafes are considered good venues to conduct office meetings and for friends to meet. In China, an abundance of recently started domestic coffeehouse chains may be seen accommodating business people for
conspicuous consumption In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen co ...
, with coffee prices sometimes even higher than in the West. In Malaysia and Singapore, traditional breakfast and coffee shops are called '' kopi tiam''. The word is a portmanteau of the
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
word for coffee (as borrowed and altered from English) and the Hokkien dialect word for shop (; POJ: tiàm). Menus typically feature simple offerings: a variety of foods based on
egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
,
toast Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * '' ...
, and coconut jam, plus coffee, tea, and Milo, a malted chocolate drink that is extremely popular in Southeast Asia and Australasia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. In the Philippines, coffee shop chains like
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
have become the prevalent hangouts for upper and middle class professionals in such districts as the
Makati CBD The Makati Central Business District (Makati CBD), is a financial and central business district in the Philippines located in the heart of Makati in Metro Manila. It is politically known as "Central Cluster" in the West District of Makati. It i ...
. However, carinderias (small eateries) continue to serve coffee alongside breakfast and snack dishes. Events called "Kapihan" (fora) are often held inside bakeshops or restaurants that also serve coffee for breakfast or
merienda Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (merenda in Galician, berenar in Catalan), Portugal (lanche or merenda) and Italy (merenda), as well as Hispanic America, Philippines (meryenda/merienda), North Africa (Morocco), ...
. In Thailand, the term "café" is not only a coffeehouse in the international definition, as in other countries, but in the past was considered a night restaurant that serves alcoholic drinks during a comedy show on stage. The era in which this type of business flourished was the 1990s, before the
1997 financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
. The first real coffeehouse in Thailand opened in 1917 at the
Si Kak Phraya Si Si Kak Phraya Si ( th, สี่กั๊กพระยาศรี, ) is an intersection in area of Wang Burapha Phirom sub-district, Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok. It is the intersection of Charoen Krung, Fueang Nakhon and Ban Mo roads. It i ...
in the area of Rattanakosin Island, by Madam Cole, an American woman who living in Thailand at that time, Later, Chao Phraya Ram Rakop (เจ้าพระยารามราฆพ), Thai aristocrat, opened a coffeehouse named "Café de Norasingha" (คาเฟ่นรสิงห์) located at Sanam Suea Pa (สนามเสือป่า), the ground next to the Royal Plaza. At present, Café de Norasingha has been renovated and moved to within
Phayathai Palace The Phya Thai Palace ( th, วังพญาไท ''Wang Phaya Thai'') or Royal Phya Thai Palace ( ''Phra Ratcha Wang Phaya Thai'') is on the banks of the Samsen Canal ( ''Khlong Sam Sen'') on Rajavithee Road ( ''Thanon Ratchawithi'') in the ...
. In the southern region, a traditional coffeehouse or ''kopi tiam'' is popular with locals, like many countries in the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
.


Australia

In the 19th Century, coffee houses such as the
Collingwood Coffee Palace Collingwood, meaning "wood of disputed ownership", may refer to: Educational institutions * Collingwood College, Victoria, an Australian state Prep to Year 12 school * Collingwood College, Durham, college of Durham University, England * Collingw ...
or the
Federal Coffee Palace The Federal Hotel and Coffee Palace was a large elaborate Second Empire style temperance hotel in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, built in 1888 at the height of Melbourne's Boom era, and controversially demolished in 1973. Located on C ...
in the centre of Melbourne were established and were part of the temperance movement to reduce the consumption of alcohol in society. In modern Australia, coffee shops are ubiquitously known as ''cafés''. Since the post- World War II influx of Italian immigrants introduced the first espresso coffee machines to Australia in the 1950s, there was initially a slow rise in café culture, particularly in Melbourne, until a boom in locally owned cafés Australia-wide began in the 1990s. Alongside the rise in the number of cafés there has been a rise in demand for locally (or on-site) roasted specialty coffee, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. A local favourite is the "
flat white A flat white is a coffee drink consisting of espresso with microfoam (steamed milk with small, fine bubbles and a glossy or velvety consistency). It is comparable to a latte, but smaller in volume and with less microfoam, therefore having a high ...
" which remains a popular coffee drink.


Africa

In Cairo, the capital of Egypt, most cafés have shisha (waterpipe). Most Egyptians indulge in the habit of smoking shisha while hanging out at the café, watching a match, studying, or even sometimes finishing some work. In Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, independent coffeehouses that struggled prior to 1991 have become popular with young professionals who do not have time for traditional coffee roasting at home. One establishment that has become well-known is the Tomoca coffee shop, which opened in 1953.


Europe


United Kingdom

The patrons of the first coffeehouse in England, The Angel, which opened in Oxford in 1650, and the mass of London coffee houses that flourished over the next three centuries, were far removed from those of modern Britain. Haunts for teenagers in particular, Italian-run espresso bars and their formica-topped tables were a feature of 1950s Soho that provided a backdrop as well as a title for Cliff Richard's 1960 film '' Expresso Bongo''. The first was The Moka in
Frith Street Frith Street is in the Soho area of London. To the north is Soho Square and to the south is Shaftesbury Avenue. The street crosses Old Compton Street, Bateman Street and Romilly Street. History Frith Street was laid out in the late 1670s an ...
, opened by Gina Lollobrigida in 1953. With their "exotic Gaggia
coffee machine A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee gr ...
... Coke, Pepsi, weak frothy coffee and... Suncrush orange fountain Lyn Perry, "Cabbages and Cuppas", i
''Adventures in the Mediatheque: Personal Selections of Films''
, (London: BFI Southbank / University of the Third Age, 2008), pp 26–27.
they spread to other urban centers during the 1960s, providing cheap, warm places for young people to congregate and an ambience far removed from the global coffee bar standard that would be established in the final decades of the century by chains such as
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
and Pret a Manger. Specifically the section headed "1953...".


Espresso bar

The espresso bar is a type of coffeehouse that specializes in coffee drinks made from espresso. Originating in Italy, the espresso bar has spread throughout the world in various forms. Prime examples that are internationally known are Starbucks Coffee, based in Seattle, U.S., and Costa Coffee, based in Dunstable, U.K. (the first and second largest coffeehouse chains respectively), although the espresso bar exists in some form throughout much of the world. The espresso bar is typically centered around a long counter with a high-yield espresso machine (usually bean to cup machines, automatic or semiautomatic pump-type machine, although occasionally a manually operated lever-and-piston system) and a display case containing pastries and occasionally savory items such as sandwiches. In the traditional Italian bar, customers either order at the bar and consume their drinks standing or, if they wish to sit down and be served, are usually charged a higher price. In some bars there is an additional charge for drinks served at an outside table. In other countries, especially the United States, seating areas for customers to relax and work are provided free of charge. Some espresso bars also sell coffee paraphernalia, candy, and even music. North American espresso bars were also at the forefront of widespread adoption of public WiFi access points to provide Internet services to people doing work on laptop computers on the premises. The offerings at the typical espresso bar are generally quite Italianate in inspiration;
biscotti Biscotti (; ; en, biscuits), known also as cantucci (), are Italian almond biscuits that originated in the Tuscan city of Prato. They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and may be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo. Name ...
, cannoli and
pizzelle ''Pizzelle'' (, singular ''pizzella'') are traditional Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, and flavoring (usually anise or anisette, less commonly vanilla or lemon zest). Pizzelle can be hard and crisp ...
are a common traditional accompaniment to a caffe latte or cappuccino. Some upscale espresso bars even offer alcoholic drinks such as grappa and sambuca. Nevertheless, typical pastries are not always strictly Italianate and common additions include scones, muffins, croissants, and even doughnuts. There is usually a large selection of teas as well, and the North American espresso bar culture is responsible for the popularization of the Indian spiced tea drink
masala chai Masala chai (, ; Urdu: مصالحہ چائے, Hindi: मसाला चाय) is an Indian tea culture, Indian tea beverage made by boiling black tea in milk and water with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. Originating in India the bever ...
. Iced drinks are also popular in some countries, including both iced tea and iced coffee as well as blended drinks such as Starbucks'
Frappucino Frappuccino is a line of blended iced coffee drinks sold by Starbucks. It consists of coffee or crème base, blended with ice and ingredients such as flavored syrups and usually topped with whipped cream and or spices. Frappuccinos are also sold ...
. A worker in an espresso bar is referred to as a
barista A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. Etymology and inflection The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...
. The barista is a skilled position that requires familiarity with the drinks being made (often very elaborate, especially in North American-style espresso bars), a reasonable facility with some equipment as well as the usual customer service skills.


Gallery

File:028 Cafe sign free photo - Cafe neon - Creative Commons Attribution.jpg, Café neon sign in
Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
File:Café Mélange, Wien.jpg, Café Mélange, Vienna File:Kahvila Kampelan terassia.JPG, Café Kampela, Helsinki File:PCC Common Grounds.jpg, On-campus coffeehouse at Pensacola Christian College File:In café omgebouwde kerk in Utrecht.jpg, A café in a former church, Utrecht File:Roadside cafe on the summer terrace. Buryatia, Russia.jpg, Roadside cafe on the summer terrace.
Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...
, Russia


See also

* Cat café *
Cha chaan teng ''Cha chaan teng'' (; "tea restaurant"), often called a Hong Kong-style cafe or diner in English, is a type of restaurant that originated in Hong Kong. Cha chaan teng are commonly found in Hong Kong, Macau, and parts of Guangdong. Due to the w ...
, Hong Kong-style cafe *
Coffee service Coffee service refers to the many and various styles in which coffee is made available to people, such as in restaurants and hotels. In particular, it sometimes refers to the set of dishes and vessels utilized to serve and consume coffee, akin to ...
*
Death Cafe A Death Cafe is a scheduled non-profit get-together (called "social franchises" by the organizers) for the purpose of talking about death over food and drink, usually tea and cake. The goal of these nonprofit groups is to educate and help others bec ...
*
Dog café A dog café is a type of business establishment where typically customers pay to spend time with domesticated canines for purposes of entertainment and relaxation. Such cafés may also provide other services such as food and beverages. Dog café ...
* English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries * Greasy spoon * History of coffee * Kafana * Kissaten * List of coffeehouse chains *
Manga café A is a type of café, originating from Japan, where people can read manga. People pay for the amount of time they stay in the café. Most manga cafés also offer internet access like and vice versa, making the two terms mostly interchangeab ...
* Teahouse * Turkish coffee


References


Sources

* Abbas, H. (2014). "Coffee Houses, Early Public Libraries, and the Print Trade in Eighteenth-Century Dublin". ''Library & Information History'' 30(1), 41–61.


Further reading

* Marie-France Boyer; photographs by Eric Morin (1994) ''The French Café''. London: Thames & Hudson * Brian Cowan (2005), ''The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse'', Yale University Press * Markman Ellis (2004), ''The Coffee House: a cultural history'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson * Robert Hume "Percolating Society", Irish Examiner, 27 April 2017 p. 13 * Ray Oldenburg, '' The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You through the Day''. New York: Parragon Books, 1989. * Tom Standage (2006) ''A History of the World in Six Glasses'', Walker & Company, * Ahmet Yaşar, "The Coffeehouses in Early Modern Istanbul: Public Space, Sociability and Surveillance", MA Thesis, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, 2003
Library.boun.edu.tr
* Ahmet Yaşar, "Osmanlı Şehir Mekânları: Kahvehane Literatürü / Ottoman Urban Spaces: An Evaluation of Literature on Coffeehouses", TALİD Türkiye Araştırmaları Literatür Dergisi, 6, 2005, 237–256
Talid.org
* Antony Wild, ''Coffee, A Dark History'', New York: W. W. Norton & Company, ; London: Fourth Estate, 2004 . *Nautiyal, J. J. (2016). "Aesthetic and affective experiences in coffee shops: a Deweyan engagement with ordinary affects in ordinary spaces". ''Education & Culture'', 32(2), 99–118. * Withington, Phil. "Public and private pleasures." ''History Today'' (June 2020) 70#6 pp. 16–18. covers London 1630 to 1800. * Withington, Phil. "Where was the coffee in early modern England?." ''Journal of Modern History'' 92.1 (2020): 40–75. {{Authority control Restaurants by type Coffee culture Arab inventions Coffee