Because coffee was probably brought up through the port of Venice, many historians believe the first European coffeehouse was established in Venice in about 1645.
Shortly after coffee reached Rome, it was threatened with religious fanaticism. It is related that certain priests appealed to Pope Clement VIII (1535-1605) to have its use forbidden among Christians, denouncing it as an invention of Satan.
The first recorded British coffeehouse was in Oxford. It was opened in 1650. Students and faculty patronized Jacob of the Angel, where their admission and a cup of coffee cost a penny. By early 18th century London had thousands of coffeehouses and by 1739 they outnumbered taverns.
Coffee houses multiply and become such popular forums for learned and not so learned. Only a decade after 166o did coffee take off as an item of luxury consumption; coffeehouses and cafes, the very heart of the emerging public sphere, sprouted up in cities and provincial towns throughout Europe.
In France, the first coffeehouse opened in 1672. By 1843, there were thousands of coffeehouses throughout Europe and the American colonies.
Brazilian coffee industry gets started in 1727 from seedlings smuggled out from Paris.
History of coffee in Europe
