Coffee tables – why is a coffee table referred to as a coffee table? Why not a tea table? Or in most cases a foot rest table? (…I guess that would be an ottoman). Lets find out its origins….
The first coffee house to open in Britain was opened in Oxford in 1650, and was followed in 1652 by the opening of the first coffee house in London. The popularity of this first establishment was such that it was imitated widely and coffee houses became ubiquitous in the City of London. Known as the Penny Universities, (the entry fee, which included a cup of coffee, was one penny), as it was reckoned that you could learn as much there as going to university, the coffee houses became the gathering places of merchants, scholars, politicians, businessmen and the like. In more recent times “coffee shops” are renowned social spots throughout Amsterdam and The Netherlands…but not for drinking coffee…:)
Anyway, as time went on coffee houses played an important part in the development of the City of London. For instance, the Edward Lloyd coffee house established in 1688 later became Lloyds of London. Other coffee houses where the stock jobbers congregated to do business after being expelled from the Royal Exchange formed the basis for what was to eventually become the London Stock Exchange.
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