Coffee fuelled the information exchanges of the 17th and 18th centuries

<a href="http://www.economist.com/World/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2281736" title="Economist.com |  Coffee-houses">Coffee-houses</a>: &ldquo;Where do you go when you want to know the latest business news, follow commodity prices, keep up with political gossip, find out what others think of a new book, or stay abreast of the latest scientific and technological developments? Today, the answer is obvious: you log on to the internet. Three centuries ago, the answer was just as easy: you went to a coffee-house. There, for the price of a cup of coffee, you could read the latest pamphlets, catch up on news and gossip, attend scientific lectures, strike business deals, or chat with like-minded people about literature or politics.&rdquo;