Coffee: Sifting Through the Grounds of Time

with Daryl F. Mallett

It is a merit of the coffeehouse that you can sit there the whole day and half the night amongst people of all classes. The coffeehouse is the only place where conversation may be made to come true, where extravagant plans, utopian dreams and political plots are hatched without anyone even leaving their seats.

--H. Kesten, Dichter im Cafe, p. 129.

Coffeehouses have never been merely places to hang out and drink coffee and hobnob with artists and writers and philosophers. They have always seemed to have more intrigue and depth to them. Indeed, many coffeehouses also serve as a springboard where young artists and musicians showcase their talent.

See's Coffeehouse (located in the Canyon Crest Towne Centre here in Riverside) hosts artists each month to hang their artwork on the walls...serving the double purpose of advertising the artist and decorating See's walls.

Richard James Montoya just finished his show as I write this, but he can be reached for commissions at 714/354-7151. His card reads "I love to draw."

Previous artists have included Rhue, a fantastic artist whose work is very striking...it really makes you stop and think about it. She too is available for commissions at 714/274-9319. If you're looking for something to decorate those bare walls, call them! Next up on the walls at See's will be Kay Englehart. Go take a look...and grab some of the Colombian Antigua brew...it's delicious.

The quote from Kesten, above, is a small part of what has been written about coffeehouses. If you are interested in the history of coffeehouses (and it is a very interesting history), check these books out:

The Penny Universities: A History of the Coffee-Houses, by A. Ellis. London: Secker & Warburg, 1956.

Dichter im Cafe, by H. Kesten. Vienna: K. Desch, 1959 (in German).

There are a few other books about the subject, but I don't have them handy at the moment. There are also a ton of passing references to the coffeehouse in various criticisms of literature (remember The Spectator, by Addison and Steele?).

A bit of historical coffeehouse trivia:

According to Ellis' book, the first coffeehouse in England was opened in 1652 "at the Angel in the parish of St. Peter in the East," according to Samuel Pepys' diary. The location is still home to a cafe called The Grand Cafe.

According to Kersten, the first coffeehouse in Europe was Caffe Florian in St. Mark's Square in Venice in 1647 (other sources say 1720).

Either way, coffeehouses have been around for a very long time. So, even though they're probably not going away in the near future, go experience one as soon as possible. You'll get hooked...they're fun places to be.

Imagine what coffee would taste like if the grounds you used were 350 years old... Hmm...

About the Author
Daryl F. Mallett is an editor with The Borgo Press and a professional freelance writer who spends copious amounts of his spare time at See's Coffee House...but at least he claims to get some writing done while sipping java...

(Originally published in The Riverside Review Magazine, Vol. 1:6, May 1992.)