The 18th century coffee historian, la Roque, tells how the French had learned 'to furnish the coffee shops with tapestries, large mirrors, pictures, marble tables and chandeliers ... which was first done in the market of St Germain.'

'These shops,' wrote la Roque, 'have become finely furnished drawing rooms; much imitated by everyone and in mutual competition, they have become meeting places for many of the more distinguished people who wish to refresh themselves with a cup of coffee in pleasant conversation.'

The Ottomans, themselves, brought tons of coffee to the very gates of Vienna, their precious rations left by Turkish troops when they retreated south. One of the earliest Viennese cafes was supposedly started from these supplies.

Kaffeekranzchen – or coffee circles – became an important part of German social life in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was said that these coffee klatches helped transform the image of women in German society.