Tea Party Diva

Coffee Houses Precede Tea Houses In England
When thinking tea and coffee, we usually associate England with tea houses. In fact, coffee houses preceded tea houses in England by some 50 years or so. Coffee was introduced to England in the early 1600’s.

Penny Universities

The first coffee house opened in 1650 at Oxford. By 1700 London had over 2000 coffee houses. These were known as Penny Universities. Coffee house owners issued their own coins.

These penny and half penny coins or tokens were used to pay for entry to the coffee house. Women were excluded from coffee houses, except to serve.

For the price of a cup of coffee, men could sit and discuss matters or the day, or do business. This is not so different from today’s gatherings at coffee houses.

1700’s Coffee Houses - Penny Universities
The 1700’s coffee houses or Penny Universities were very noisy, and some like Lloyd’s Coffee House were open around the clock. Lloyd’s Coffee House was near the wharves, so it was frequented by seafarers, shipwrights and marine underwriters.

Different coffee houses catered for different groups. Men who worked as politicians or lawyers had their favorite coffee houses. Others catered for writers and wits, such as Oscar Wilde, and those from the Arts.

Tom Twining and Coffee

Tea houses came later when Tom Twining bought Tom’s Coffee House in 1706. As a previous employee of the East India Company, he also had a sound knowledge of tea.

Twining was an astute businessman, and soon added fine teas to his coffee house offerings. It’s somewhat ironic that Twinings, the famous British tea company, originated in a coffee house.

Times Past