With specialist milks, flavoured syrups and intricate brewing techniques, the coffee house as an international brand was introduced with the opening of the world’s first Starbucks in Seattle on March 30, 1971.
But the rich history of coffee shop culture stretches back many centuries before that – to both Europe and the Middle East.
One of the earliest was opened in Vienna in 1685, with the story that the coffee beans were discovered left behind when the Turks retreated after the failed siege of the city two years earlier. It was here that milk was first added.
In fact travellers to Asia were already talking of a drink “black in colour and made by infusing the powdered berry of a plant that flourished in Arabia” and could be consumed “all day long and far into the night, with no apparent desire for sleep but with mind and body continuously alert”.
By the 17th century, coffee drinking was already established across the Ottoman Empire, reaching Istanbul as early as the 15th century, where customer could enjoy conversation and play games like backgammon and chess along with their daily brew.
Coffee had reached Istanbul through Persia and other cities in the region like Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, introduced by merchants from those cities.
The empire brews black
The Syrian capital was probably the first to introduce coffee drinking, with Damascus brought under the Ottoman Empire by the early 16th century.
Ottoman rule also extended into Arabia, down the Red Sea to the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah by 1517.
Citizens of what is now Saudi Arabia were already familiar with the coffee bean, originally grown to be chewed as a stimulant in Ethiopia and probably first brewed as a beverage in Yemen sometime in the 1400s.
Makkah is where we find the world’s first coffee houses, places for trading beans and socialising and where the word “coffee” evolved from the Arabic qahwah.
They may have existed as early as the 13th century, known as qahveh kaneh, or home of coffee, and were probably used to gather and study religious text. Later they became places to socialise, with music and games, and to discuss politics.
It was this that led to its banning in 1511 by the governor of Makkah, Khair Bey, who feared drinkers would be overstimulated and rise up against his rule. The ban was eventually lifted in 1523 on the orders of Sultan Selim I in Cairo, who declared coffee sacred. Khair Bey was then executed.
Fast forward nearly 500 years to when Starbucks struck a licensing deal to enter the Middle East. In 2000, the Alshaya Group opened the first Starbucks in Saudi Arabia at Khobar’s Rashid Mall, with over 400 branches now operating in the kingdom.
The world’s most famous coffee brand is now firmly entrenched in the original home of the coffee shop.
A taste of independence
Meanwhile, America's thirst for coffee is ingrained in the national conscience.
Coffee had been sipped in the US since the revolution, in part because it was seen an act of defiance against taxes imposed on tea by Britain in 1773.
Boston coffee house the Green Dragon became known as the “headquarters of the revolution” after the Sons of Liberty, a clandestine group dedicated to end of English tyranny, began meeting there.
Its popularity was reinforced during the American Civil War when Union troops were issued with 36lbs, or 16.3kg, of coffee beans a year, with generals believing it was both a comfort and stimulant in combat. Historians researching soldiers’ letters home found they mentioned coffee more than president Abraham Lincoln, slavery or even the war itself.
Most of the coffee in the US was grown on the islands of the Caribbean. The first seedlings were imported to Martinique in 1720, on French plantations that used African slaves for labour. By the end of the 18th century the Caribbean supplied almost half of the world’s coffee.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
·
Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
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What is a portfolio stress test?
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What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
