Coffee Information



LifeHealthInsurance.ca

English Coffee


With English Tea being a very familiar term, English coffee may seem as contrary a term as Arctic bananas; however, England's impact on the coffee trade and the world of business is undeniable. The history of English coffee began in 1650 at Oxford University when a Lebanese immigrant opened the first coffeehouse on campus.

Initially, coffee was seen as novelty and a snake oil, if you will, as the proprietor touted many incredible medical claims. His English coffee was said to aid in digestion, cure headaches, coughs, dropsy, gout, scurvy and even prevent miscarriages. About the only claim that was accurate was that English coffee prevented drowsiness.

By 1700, however, coffee had become a very popular beverage and there were more than two thousand coffeehouses in London. Coffeehouses occupied more retail space and paid more rent than any other trade. They came to be known as Penny Universities, because for the price of a cup of coffee, one penny, a person could sit for hours and engage in stimulating conversation with educated people.

Each coffeehouse specialized in a different clientele. In one, physicians could be consulted. Other's catered to lawyers, actors, army officers, or clergy. English coffee became the beverage of business and one coffeehouse in particular grew into one of the worlds largest and most well known companies. Edward Lloyd's coffeehouse catered primarily to seafarers and merchants and he regularly prepared "ships' lists" for underwriters who met there to offer insurance to the ship captains. And so began Lloyd's of London, the famous insurance company.

Prior to the popularity of English coffee, beer, or ale, was the morning beverage of choice among the working class. The pubs and taverns were filled early in the morning with workers who stopped in for a few pints of camaraderie before heading off to the factories and shops around London.

One English writer wrote in 1624, "They flock to the taverns to dizzy their brains and a productionless society is the result." Fifty years later another writer credited English coffee with stimulating the economy as he wrote, "Coffee drinking hath caused a greater sobriety than has ever been seen in the business of London."

By the late 18th century the buzz of English coffee subsided and tea became the preferred British drink, due much in part to the outcry of women, who were excluded from the all-male society of the coffeehouse and complained loudly. A group of angry coffeehouse widows filed a petition with the English government to ban coffee on the grounds that their men were never at home and their duties as husband and father were being neglected. English coffee was not banned but the outcry did have repercussions on the coffeehouse business and men returned to the taverns instead.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy has more articles on coffee such as Colombian Coffee, Are Coffee Enemas the Real Thing? and Arabica Coffee.


MORE RESOURCES:

US Coffee Consumption Holds Steady
MyFox Washington DC
(NewsCore) - Coffee consumption in the US remained stable this year despite the recession, though consumers increasingly chose to brew the beverage at home, ...
US Coffee Drinking 'Stable' Amid Recession, Industry ReportsBusinessWeek

all 14 news articles »


Colombia Coffee Crop to Surge on 'Optimal' Weather, Group Says
BusinessWeek
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia's coffee output will jump 41 percent this year from a 33-year low as a combination of “optimal” weather and ...

and more »



Stafford: Coffee with friend brings memories
Springfield News Sun
There may be better things to do on a gray late winter morning than have coffee with an old ...

and more »


BBC News

CNN Salutes the 'Coffee Party'
FOXNews
I speak of the "Coffee Party" movement which swung into action — of some sort — over the weekend. It was greeted with amazing fanfare... at least on CNN. ...
Legislative focus with tea and coffeeKansas City Star
Coffee Party meeting energizes supportersDallas Morning News
Is the "Coffee Party" the Next Big Thing?CBS News
The Gamecock -The Week Magazine -McCook Daily Gazette
all 425 news articles »


Starbucks' shareholders will vote on a plan to expand the company's recycling
Seattle Times
Robert Janis, of Seattle, uses a ceramic mug at the First and Pike Starbucks because he says coffee tastes better that way. ...

and more »


Earthtimes (press release)

Robusta Coffee Climbs 2.5% This Week as Vietnam May Curb Supply
BusinessWeek
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Robusta coffee rose 2.5 percent this week, the first weekly advance since January, on speculation of reduced ...
Vietnam to stockpile coffee to fight low pricesEarthtimes (press release)

all 5 news articles »


First a Tea Party, Now a Coffee Party
BloggingStocks (blog)
The Coffee Party's underlying principle is that government is "not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must ...
The Coffee Party Comes to Rockbridge CountyRockbridge Weekly
Charlotte Coffee Party kick-offExaminer.com

all 3 news articles »


Coffee with a kick
Sify
Enjoy liqueur coffees or espresso shots at Segafredo Zanetti, the latest international coffee player to come to India. According to an old tale, ...
KKR in $200m Indian coffee shops dealPeninsula On-line

all 2 news articles »


Global Coffee Deficit to Grow as Output Trails Use, Group Says
BusinessWeek
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- The global coffee market deficit will widen as production trails consumption, said Nestor Osorio, executive director of ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006