Coffee - From Arabia to the Coffee House, The Art and History of Coffee Drinking

21st September 2023 10.45am and 2.15pm at The Henley Rugby Club

Christopher Bradley

Long before cappuccinos and skinny lattes, all the world’s coffee traded through the tiny port of Mokha in Yemen.

Ethiopia is the traditional home of coffee

(Please click on the blue print above to continue reading)

Popularised in Constantinople, Vienna and Amsterdam, the first English coffee house opened in the 1650’s and by 1700 there were 500 in London alone.

Coffee Shop Art, Alexandria, Egypt

Beginning as ‘sobering meeting places’ they were frequented by artists, authors and politicians where the debating of literary and political ideas was encouraged, as seen in early prints and lithographs.

The marketing of coffee went through distinctive art nouveau and art deco periods and we see it included in works of the major French Impressionists.

Christopher Bradley is an expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. As a professional tour guide and lecturer he has led groups throughout the Middle East and Asia. Has written extensively on Arabia and is the author of The Discovery Guide to Yemen, Insight Guide to the Silk Road and Berlitz Guides to Libya; The Red Sea; Oman; Cairo; Abu Dhabi and Nile Cruising. As a photographer he has pictures represented by four photographic libraries. He has a broad range of lecturing experience, including to the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Institute of British Architects. As a film producer and cameraman he has made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic TV and Channel 4.

Henley DFAS

Coffee - From Arabia to the Coffee House, The Art and History of Coffee Drinking

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