Food and drink

It's a coffeehouse to the Indians and the Brits, a cafa to the French and caffe to the Italian; the coffee-shop is the final outcome of the cross-pollination between the characteristics of a bar and that of a restaurant, acting as a venue for congregations, literature, music and higher level of intellectualism

With coffee and sometimes, tea being the pivotal beverages for sale, the coffee-shops worldwide often sell light snacks ranging from baked goods to soups and sandwiches, casual meals and light desserts. Coffee-shops are also famous for providing the food for thought; intellectual brainstormings since ages have found a firm footage amidst one and so has the shisha serving powdered tobacco in hookahs, particularly in Cairo. It has been found that the most liberal ones are also licensed to sell alcohol, especially in the Netherlands and in Christiania. In certain parts of Canada, coffee shops are found to be the peace-haven of cannabis.
History
Persia, apart from its offering of carpets, gave the world a concept that's still in practice; the Quhveh Khaneh, or coffee shops since the 16th century have become the social-gathering places. At the beginning, coffee shops were gender-biased; they were truly a man's world. However, it did allow one woman to stay inside, the one decently separated in a canopied booth, doling out coffee in tall cups. Though the modern medical sciences proved coffee a stimulant that improves both mental and physical activities, but during those periods and particularly for this reason, rulers and religious leaders used to oppose the establishments and sometimes, imposed bans on the coffee shops as well. There's a traditional tale that describes the origins of Viennese coffeehouses - it's said that the Turks left behind mysterious sacks of green beans after their defeat in the Battle of Vienna (1683).
The green beans were nothing but coffee beans, and were presented to the victorious Polish king (Jan III Sobieski), from whom it went to the hands of one of the officers (Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki). It was Kulczycki who pioneered the nobel act. Europe witnessed coffee with the first coffeehouse opened in Cornhill (1652), Boston in 1670 and Paris in 1671; the Cafe Le Procope being the oldest one running (since 1689). It's said that French Enlightenment had its advent here; with Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot frequenting the place, legend also claims the cafa to be the birthplace of the Encyclopedie. Wikipedia


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