The humble coffee bean has been brewed and enjoyed since at least the ninth century, and in the United States today a large majority of the population starts the morning with a steaming cup or three. Coffee’s popularity is likely a function of its stimulating properties, which may also account for the unmistakable political dimension that has always characterized establishments that sell it.
Early Coffeehouses in the Middle East
The first coffeehouse opened in Istanbul in 1457. Coffee had been drunk in the Middle East for centuries, and coffeehouses soon became popular gathering places where men would drink coffee or tea, of course, but also sit and read, listen to readings, or play chess. The men also tended to discuss politics, and it is here that the establishments first began falling foul of the authorities, a trend that would continue almost to the present day. In the city of Mecca, coffeehouses were actually banned from 1512 to 1524, but crackdowns by the powers that be were not sufficient to stop the proliferation; starting from 1530, coffeehouses spread throughout the Middle East, finding their greatest foothold in Cairo.
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