Coffee and Coffeehouses

Drawing on the accounts of early European travelers, original Arabic sources on jurisprudence and etiquette, and treatises on coffee from the period, the author recounts the colorful early history of the spread of coffee and the influence of coffeehouses in the medieval Near East. Detailed descriptions of the design, atmosphere, management, and patrons of early coffeehouses make fascinating reading for anyone interested in the history of coffee and the unique institution of the coffeehouse in urban Muslim society

Illustrations

Preface

The Great Coffee Controversy

The Coming of Coffee to the Near East

Coffee, Coffeehouses, and the Opposition

Wine, Coffee, and the Holy Law

Lethargy, Leprosy, and Melancholia: Coffee and Medieval Medicine

Taverns without Wine: The Rise of the Coffeehouse

Society and the Social Life of the Coffeehouse

The Coffeehouse: Social Norms, Social Symbols

Appendix: Note on Sources

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index