Whereas coffee had initially only been consumed at royal courts, the coffee-drinking habit increasingly spread among the bourgeoisie during the 17th and 18th centuries. The coffee house, as a public meeting place and a place for the exchange of news, played a central role in this process.
Public coffee house, drawing, about 1750/1800, artist unknown; source: Deutsche Fotothek Dresden, Signatur/Inventary-Nr.: C 6638, http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/30103523, public domain.