“Coffeehouses were centers of self-education, literary and philosophical speculation, commercial innovation, and, in some cases, political fermentation. But above all they were clearinghouses for news and gossip, linked by the circulation of customers, publications, and information from one establishment to the next. Collectively, Europe's coffeehouses functioned as the Internet of the Age of Reason.” CoffeeAge Of ReasonCoffee House Book:A History of the World in 6 Glasses Source: A History of the World in 6 Glasses
“Ten years after the Boston Tea Party, tea was still far more popular than coffee, which only became the more popular drink in the mid-nineteenth century. Coffee's popularity grew after the duty on imports was abolished in 1832, making it more affordable. The duty was briefly reintroduced during the Civil War but was abolished again in 1872.” AmericaCoffeeTeaBoston Tea Party Author:Tom Standage
“The Arabs understandably did everything they could to protect their monopoly. Coffee beans were treated before being shipped to ensure they were sterile and could not be used to seed new coffee plants; foreigners were excluded from coffee-producing areas. First to break the Arab monopoly were the Dutch, who displaced the Portuguese as the dominant European nation in the East Indies during the seventeenth century, gaining control of the spice trade in the process and briefly becoming the world's leading commercial power.” WorldFirstsUsedNationsProcessBreakCenturyBecomingProtectAreasTradePlantSeedsEastCoffeeTreatedDominantMonopolyForeignersSpicesBeansDutchExcludedPortuguese Author:Tom Standage
