The History of Early Coffeehouses in Europe
Since ancient times, coffeehouses have been places for gathering, dialogue, and cultural and intellectual exchange. The culture of coffeehouses originated in the Islamic world before spreading to Europe and other parts of the world. These places contributed to the transmission of ideas and knowledge across borders and civilizations, becoming an integral part of human history and its journey towards progress and prosperity.
Initially, coffee houses in the Mamluk city of Mecca were a place for political meetings for those expelled by imams from mosque councils and whose drink was forbidden to Muslims between 1512 and 1524. Coffee became a symbol and drink of political opposition to Mamluk rule in the Hejaz. In 1530, the world’s first coffeehouse opened its doors in Damascus, named a coffee tavern (qahwa khaneh), and Cairo did not wait long to set up the tables of its first coffeehouse, both of which had become Ottoman.
Ottoman historian İbrahim Peçevi wrote in his chronicles (1642–1649) about the opening of the first coffeehouse in Constantinople, saying: “Until 1555, in the city glorified and protected by God, Constantinople, as well as in the Ottoman lands in general, coffee, and coffeehouses did not exist. But in that year, a man from Aleppo named Hakam, and a storyteller from Damascus named Shams, came to the city and each of them opened a large store in the Tahtakale neighborhood, and they began selling coffee.”
In the same century as Peçevi, we read an account by a French traveler named Jean Chardin, who wrote a vivid description of an Ottoman coffeehouse scene in the 17th century: “People engage in discussions, so news is exchanged and spread among those interested in politics who criticize the government freely and without fear, as the government does not care what people say. People are entertained by innocent games like draughts, hopscotch, and chess. In addition to mullahs, dervishes, and poets, each takes his turn to tell stories in prose or verse. The tales of the mullahs and dervishes are moral lessons, like sermons with us, but people do not consider ignoring them a glaring flaw. No one is obliged to stop a game they are playing or a discussion they are engaged in because of a religious preacher. The mullah stands in the middle or in a corner of the coffeehouse and begins preaching loudly, while the dervish enters suddenly and disciplines the assembled, warning of the vanity of the world and its material goods. It often happens that two or three people speak at the same time, facing each other in opposite directions, and usually, one of the assembled is preaching to the rest as a storyteller.”
It is believed that the first coffeehouse in Sarajevo opened in the 16th century, shortly after the opening of the first coffeehouse in Constantinople. Coffeehouses in Sarajevo served as forums for cultural and political discussions, as well as places for artists and intellectuals to gather and exchange ideas. They also played an important role in the city’s social life.
The first coffeehouse in Europe outside Ottoman lands appeared in the 17th century, and wherever coffeehouses were found, their popularity quickly increased. The first coffee shop in Western Europe was in the Republic of Venice in 1629, due to the activity of trade and shipping between the ports of Gaza and Iskenderun on one side and the port of Venice on the other. An Arab sailor from Aleppo opened a coffee shop in the city’s port to serve Arab sailors and others from the Ottoman Empire. The oldest recorded coffeehouses in the city of Venice were in 1645.
The first coffeehouse in England opened in Oxford in 1652 by a Jewish Damascene named Jacob on Angel Street at St. Peter’s parish, east of the city. The coffeehouse, known to the people of Oxford as The Turk’s Head, still exists today as The Grand Cafe. Meanwhile, the Queen’s Lane Coffee House in Oxford, founded in 1654, also still exists today. The first coffeehouse in London opened its doors in 1652 on St. Michael’s Alley, Cornhill. The owner, Pasqua Rosée, was an Ottoman Greek who worked as a servant to an Ottoman goods merchant named Daniel Edwards, who imported coffee and helped Rosée establish the coffeehouse on St. Michael’s Street.
From 1670 to 1685, the number of coffeehouses in London began to double, and at the same time, coffeehouses gained political importance in English society due to their popularity as places for betting and as alternatives to pubs. By 1675, more than 3,000 coffeehouses had spread across England. The aforementioned Pasqua Rosée, in partnership with Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, also founded the first coffee shop in Paris in 1672 and monopolized the sale of coffee throughout the city until Procopio Cutò opened Café Procope in 1686. This coffeehouse still exists today and was the most important place for Enlightenment meetings; Voltaire, Rousseau, and Denis Diderot frequented it regularly, and it can be said metaphorically that it was the birthplace of the Encyclopédie, the first of the modern encyclopedias.
In 1667, former Janissary officer Kara Hamie from Constantinople opened the first coffeehouse in the center of Bucharest (the capital of the Principality of Wallachia at the time), where the main building of the National Bank of Romania stands today.
In Germany, coffeehouses were first established in the northern ports, including Bremen in 1673 and Hamburg in 1677. Initially, the Germans adopted the English name for coffee, indicating its origin. However, during the 18th century, the Germans adopted the French name café, which slowly transformed into the German word Kaffee that we know today. In the 18th century, the popularity of coffee spread throughout the German lands and began to rise to the customs of the ruling classes. Coffee was served in the court of the Great Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William, in early 1675, but the first public coffeehouse in the capital Berlin opened in 1721.
The first person to serve coffee with milk in the world was a Polish resident of Vienna named Georg Franz Kolschitzky (Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki). One of Vienna’s streets today is named after him: Kolschitzkygasse. Kolschitzky opened the first café in Vienna in 1683… 341 years ago. He served coffee with milk because the Austrians did not yet appreciate the taste of coffee. Kolschitzky was a diplomat who worked as a translator into Turkish in the service of the Austrian Oriental Trading Company. At the end of the Great Turkish War, Kolschitzky seized the coffee beans left behind by the execution of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha after the Turks withdrew from the Battle of Vienna. He opened his coffeehouse with them under the name Hof zur Blauen Flasche. Its location still exists today at Kolschitzkygasse 1, 1040 Vienna, Austria (formerly Favoritenstraße 64, 1040 Vienna, Austria).
In any case, coffee and the culture of drinking it spread to all parts of the world in the second half of the 18th century. The first recorded coffeehouse in Vienna was established in 1685 by an Ottoman Armenian merchant named Johannes Theodat (also known as Johannes Diodato). Fifteen years later, four other Ottoman Armenians owned coffeehouses and enjoyed the privilege of serving coffee in the city.
The spread of coffeehouses in Europe and other parts of the world had a significant impact on shaping cultures, ideas, and the exchange of knowledge across borders. These places contributed to creating an environment conducive to dialogue and discussion, and provided an opportunity to get to know others and accept differences. To this day, coffeehouses continue to play a pivotal role in the cultural and social life of communities, bringing people from different backgrounds together to exchange ideas, opinions, and experiences.
References and Sources
http://www.tomstandage.com/6G.html
Quoted in Bernard Lewis, Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire, University of Oklahoma Press (reprint, 1989), p. 132 Google Books. ISBN 978–0–8061–1060–8.
http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_coffee.html
Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition (1989), entry number 50031127 (café), entry number 00333259 (caffé, n), entry number 50031130 (caff)
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1773&context=etd
Reich, Anna. “Coffee & Tea History in a Cup.” Herbarist 76 (2010): 8–15.
Weinberg, Bennett Alan; Bonnie K. Bealer (2002). The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World’s Most Popular Drug. Routledge. p. page 154. ISBN 0–415–92722–6.
Wild, Anthony (2005). Coffee A Dark History. W. W. Norton & Company. p. page 90. ISBN 0–393–06071–3.
http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1670coffee.asp
http://www.makecoffeeathome.com/history-coffee/
http://www.historia.ro/exclusiv_web/general/articol/cafenele-vechiul-bucure-ti-secolele-xix-xx
http://masstraveljournal.com/page/massachusetts-firsts/americas-first-coffeehouse
http://othes.univie.ac.at/2016/
Weinberg, Bennett Alan; Bonnie K. Bealer (2002). The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World’s Most Popular Drug. Routledge. p. page 77. ISBN 0–415–92722–6.
