Utilisateur:Runab WMF/coffee-house

Café de Flore, Paris.

"Discussing the War in a Paris Café", The Illustrated London News 17 September 1870

Coffeehouse and coffee shop are related terms for an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee and other hot beverages. Café in continental Europe refers to a traditional type of coffeehouse, but elsewhere "cafe" may refer to a tea room, small and cheap restaurant (colloquially a "caff"), transport cafe, or other casual eating and drinking place. A coffeehouse may share some of the same characteristics of a bar or restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on providing coffee and tea as well as light snacks. Many coffee houses in the Middle East, and in West Asian immigrant districts in the Western world, offer shisha (nargile in Turkish and Greek), flavored tobacco smoked through a hookah. Espresso bars are a type of coffeehouse that specialize in serving espresso and espresso-based drinks.

From a cultural standpoint, coffeehouses largely serve as centers of social interaction: the coffeehouse provides social members with a place to congregate, talk, write, read, entertain one another, or pass the time, whether individually or in small groups of two or three people. A coffeehouse can serve as an informal club for its regular members.

History

Coffeehouses in Mecca became a concern as places for political gatherings to the imams who banned them, and the drink, for Muslims between 1512 and 1524. In 1530, the first coffee house was opened in Damascus and not long after there were many coffee houses in Cairo.

Africa

In Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, independent coffeehouses which struggled prior to 1991 have become popular with young professionals who do not have time for traditional coffee roasting at home. One establishment which has become well-known is the Tomoca coffee shop, which opened in 1953.

The offerings at the typical espresso bar are generally quite Italianate in inspiration; biscotti, cannoli and pizzelle are a common traditional accompaniment to a caffe latte or cappuccino. Some upscale espresso bars even offer alcoholic beverages such as grappa and sambuca. Nevertheless, typical pastries are not always strictly Italianate and common additions include scones, muffins, croissants, and even doughnuts. There is usually a large selection of teas as well, and the North American espresso bar culture is responsible for the popularization of the Indian spiced tea drink masala chai. Iced drinks are also popular in some countries, including both iced tea and iced coffee as well as blended drinks such as Starbucks' Frappucino.

A worker in an espresso bar is referred to as a barista. The barista is a skilled position that requires familiarity with the drinks being made (often very elaborate, especially in North American-style espresso bars), a reasonable facility with some rather esoteric equipment as well as the usual customer service skills.

• Coffee service
• English coffeehouses in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
• Greasy spoon
• Kafana
• Kava culture
• List of coffeehouse chains
• Manga cafe
• Penny University
• Tea house
• Coffee portal
• Drink portal

References

[[Catégorie:Café (établissement)]] [[Catégorie:Type de restaurant]]