Drawing on the accounts of early European travelers, original Arabic
sources on jurisprudence and etiquette, and treatises on coffee from the
period, the author recounts the colorful early history of the spread of
coffee and the influence of coffeehouses in the medieval Near East.
Detailed descriptions of the design, atmosphere, management, and patrons
of early coffeehouses make fascinating reading for anyone interested in
the history of coffee and the unique institution of the coffeehouse in
urban Muslim society