Coffee has a long tradition of being in bed with a "dangerous" activity... thinking. So much thinking and discourse occurs over coffee that coffee houses were called “seminaries of sedition” by King Charles II, who also ordered the suppression of such establishments in 1675. This behavior carried over into the coffee houses of America.

While both coffee and tea were both relatively new on the scene, having come to Europe around the 17th Century and America around the same time, tea seems to have been the preferred choice of temperance beverages in Europe. Naturally, the colonists brought their beverage habits with them from Europe to the new land, and so tea continued on as the more popular beverage in the colonies as well, even though coffee, tea and chocolate were all available. Tea was possibly preferred among households because of the equipment and labor involved in preparing coffee while coffee was enjoyed more as a luxury at coffee houses.

As British oppression grew, including leveraging taxes on the tea trade, and since they had monopolized the tea trade, Americans turned their attention towards coffee and began importing it from South America. A boycott of tea and a declaration of coffee as the “National Drink” led to a surge in popularity as a symbol of American resistance and independence. The growing oppression also led to more political dissent and many meetings to discuss political matters of the time.

Coffee houses were often the gathering spot for important events. They served as stops during Washington's inauguration tour and places to make public announcements.

A prominent meeting location of Washington and his fellow Founding Fathers was City Tavern in Philadelphia, originally known as Merchant’s Coffee House and later also as “and Place of Exchange.” Coffee houses in both America and Europe at the time, often doubled as information centers, taverns, men's clubs and sometimes worse. The Merchant's Coffee House hosted the first meetings of the Continental Congress and held the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. This coffee shop was a gathering spot of many of our early political leaders to enjoy a couple of cups, discuss politics and conduct trade.

"Coffee- the favorite drink of the civilized world." - Thomas Jefferson

Another popular spot in the colonial era was R. Charlton's Coffeehouse in Williamsburg, Virginia which you can still visit today and try out coffee, tea, or chocolate in the colonial style.

Coffee houses were important gathering spots. They were important social gathering places as well as serving a purpose for formal occasions. In Fredericksburg, Virginia, for example, after the War of Independence, George Washington was honored at the Town Hall Coffee House. Thirteen toasts began with "The Thirteen United and Sovereign States of America" and concluded with "The memory of all our gallant heroes who have bravely fallen in defense of American liberty" and included a discharge of 13 rounds of artillery for each.

So as you enjoy your cup of coffee in your own seminary of sedition, remember that you are celebrating both independent thought and your free American heritage.

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