[1]Since its inception, the humble coffeehouse has served as a space for rich social interactions. It is believed that the earliest coffeehouses opened their (figurative) shutters in Istanbul in the late 15th century, but they weren’t exactly looked on with favour.
Religious heads in the land thought coffee wasn’t a “good” drink, and people were banned from drinking the brew between 1512 and 1524. A few years later, however, coffeehouses began springing up in other locations: In Damascus, then Cairo and by the 17th century, Europe was enjoying the benefits of a strong cuppa. Voltaire, Rousseau and John Dryden were only some of the thinkers of their times who would seek out comfort, and debate, at coffeehouses.
For quite a long time, women weren’t allowed to frequent coffeehouses; painted depictions of the spaces tend to show men, sitting in a relaxed way with their hats off, as pots of aromatic brew were brought to them. Women servers operated out of a booth that divided them from the guests. Now that perhaps, is one coffeehouse tradition best left in the past.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/zuden1jpg-186