1554—The first coffee houses are opened in Constantinople by Shemsi of Damascus and Hekem of Aleppo. 1645 First coffeehouse opens in Venice. Others followed in many Italian towns, among them Turin, Genoa, Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples. 1652 The first coffeehouse opened in England in Oxford by a Turkish Jew named Jacob. Coffeehouses multiply and become such popular forums for learned - and not so learned - discussions that they are dubbed " penny universities" (a penny being the price of a cup of coffee). 1652—The first London coffee house is opened by Pasqua Rosée in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill. 1668 Edward Lloyd's coffeehouse opens in England and is frequented by merchants and maritime insurance agents. Eventually it is where Lloyd's of London is formed, the best-known insurance company in the world. 1671—The first coffee house in France is opened in Marseilles in the neighbourhood of the Exchange. 1672—Pascal, an Armenian, first sells coffee publicly at St. Germain's fair, Paris, and opens the first Parisian coffee house. 1679—The first coffee house in Germany is opened by an English merchant at Hamburg. 1683 The first Venetian coffee house, Bottega Del Caffé, was opened. 1683—Kolschitzky opens the first coffee house in Vienna. 1686—Café de Procope, the first real French café, is opened in Paris by Francesco Procopio de Coltelli , a Sicilian, coming from Florence. (Le Procope--it's still in business!) 1686—The first coffee house is opened in Regensburg, Germany. 1689—The first coffee house is opened in Boston. 1694—The first coffee house is opened in Leipzig, Germany. 1696—The first coffee house (The King's Arms) is opened in New York. 1700’s More coffeehouses in London than there are today. 1700—Ye coffee house, the first in Philadelphia, is built by Samuel Carpenter. 1702—The first "London" coffee house is established in Philadelphia. 1712—The first coffee house is opened in Stuttgart, Germany. 1713—The first coffee house is opened in Augsburg, Germany. 1720 Several hundred coffee houses are to be found in Paris. 1720—Caffè Florian is opened in Venice by Floriono Francesconi. One of the most famous and expensive of the coffee houses 1721 First coffee house opens in Berlin 1721—The first coffee house is opened in Berlin, Germany. 1737—The Merchants' coffee house is established in New York; by some called the true cradle of American liberty and the birthplace of the Union. 1750 One of Europe's first coffeehouses, Cafe Greco, opens in Rome. 1763 218 coffee houses in Venice. 1774—A letter is sent by the Committee of Correspondence from the Merchants' coffee house, New York, to Boston, proposing the American Union. 1789—George Washington is officially greeted, April 23, as president-elect of the U.S. at the Merchants coffee house in New York. 1792—The Tontine coffee house is established in New York. 1860 - Café Central opens in Vienna. Was a popular meeting place for Vienna’s intellectual elite, including Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Anton Kuh and Adolf Loos. Known as the "Chess School" until 1938 because of the many regular chess players were regulars including the Russian revolutionary Leo Trotzky. Fully refurbished in 1986 1863 - Café Slavia opens in the Czech capital Prague. Located opposite the National Theatre, the Café is popular with Prague’s acting community. 1873—The first "coffee palace," the Edinburgh Castle, designed to replace public-houses for working men, is opened in London. 1890 - Café de Flore, Paris opens in the unique Saint-Germain-Des-Prés district of Paris. A popular meeting place for intellectuals, writers, painters, publishers and filmmakers. The current furbishing dates back to the 1924-26 period. 1894 - Café New York opens in Budapest Destroyed in World War II but in May 2006 the Café reopened in all its former glory with an inviting gallery, sophisticated ball lamps and ceilings decorated with frescos. 1912 - Café Nouveau Obecni Dum opens in Prague An Art Deco Café in the basement of the Obecni Dum (House of Representatives) next to Prague’s Powder Tower. 1927 The first espresso machine was installed in the United States at Regio's in New York. The "La Pavoni" machine is on display there today. 1939 - Café Hawelka Vienna opens. Still with its artistic atmosphere it remains one of the few traditional Central European coffee houses. 1949 – Tchibo Coffee Chain, founded in Germany 1962 – Doutor Coffee Chain, founded in Japan 1971 – Starbucks Coffee Chain, founded in the United States in Pike Place Market in April 1971. 1975 - Second Cup Coffee Chain, founded in Canada 1983 – Diedrich Coffee Chain, founded in the United States 1989 - Literaturhaus Café in Hamburg opens. Hamberg claims to have had the first European coffee house in 1677, even before Vienna. Literaturhaus Café is a genuine Central European-style coffee house as well as a forum for readings by writers from all over the world earning it the reputation as “the philosophers’ café”. 1996 - Café Einstein, Berlin was refurbished in the style of a traditional 1920’s Vienna coffee house. |