The lost world of the London coffeehouse | Dr Matthew Green | TEDxEastEnd
The speaker argues that the modern obsession with isolated, screen-based coffee shop visits diminishes essential human connection, advocating instead for reviving the historical coffee house ritual by approaching a stranger and initiating conversation with the question, *"what news have you?"* This revival is crucial because face-to-face debate, unlike virtual interaction, fosters genuine conviviality and intellectual growth.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Presenter/Speaker giving a talk about coffee houses, serving as an advocate for historical face-to-face interaction.
- Setting: An indoor event with an audience.
- Framing: Contrasting modern coffee shop behavior (e.g., using laptops, reading alone) with historical coffee house culture to argue for the value of direct engagement.
## Theses & Positions
- Coffee houses were historically "emancipatory spaces" that allowed people to interact freely without adhering to class concerns or societal taboos.
- The real currency in old coffee houses was news and gossip, not the mere consumption of the commodity.
- The arrival of coffee triggered a *"dawn of sobriety"* that provided the "jet fuel" for the Enlightenment’s cultural, economic, and scientific growth.
- Modern coffee shop interactions, particularly in chains like Starbucks, are characterized by anonymity and isolation, akin to *Urban Oni*.
- Face-to-face interaction remains fundamentally important and must be actively restored to counter the isolating effects of increasingly virtual worlds.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Coffee House**: Historically a gathering place where people debated and socialized; described as an *"emancipatory space."*
- **Conviviality**: The desirable atmosphere found in successful, active coffee houses.
- **Quid Novi**: The Latin phrase used to ask for news in a Latin coffee house.
- **Arcadian**: Used to describe the former natural state of Hackney before development.
- **Emporium of wit**: The lively and witty nature of gatherings like Button's in Covent Garden.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Historical Debate Process**: Approach a stranger $\rightarrow$ Ask for the latest news $\rightarrow$ Debate for hours.
- **Conversation Flow**: One did not start a conversation but rather *"melted into one that was already in full flow."*
- **Personality Molding**: Individuals like Dudley Ryder learned to mold and manipulate their public persona using observed interactions in convivial coffee houses.
- **Modern Revival**: The current "Renaissance" of small independent coffee shops attempts to recapture the spirit of interaction.
- **Recommendation Process**: The call to action—scans the room for a stranger, sits down, leans in, and asks the key question to "spread the revolution."
## Timeline & Sequence
- **1652**: Year Pascal Ros opened London's first coffee shack at St Michael's alley in Corn Hill.
- **17th and 18th century**: Period when London had up to 3,000 coffee houses.
- **300 years ago**: Approximate time when the streets of London featured coffee houses with different social behaviors.
- **361 years**: The ritual of coffee drinking stretches back this duration to the alleyway ritual.
- **18th century**: Time when the "Great Enlightenment" occurred, fueled partly by coffee.
- **Last 8-10 years**: Period experiencing the current "Renaissance" of small independent coffee shops.
## Named Entities
- **Dudley Ryder**: A coffee junkie who lived in Hackney, recording his experiences in a secret diary.
- **Pascal Ros**: An eccentric Greek entrepreneur who opened London's first coffee shack in 1652.
- **Isaac Newton**: Scholar imagined to be sipping coffee at Don Sto's coffee house.
- **Joseph Addison**: Great poet and playwright who opened Button's in Covent Garden.
- **Addison, Steele, Pope, Gay, Swift**: Great writers of the age who assembled at Button's.
- **The Guardian**: Publication that would feature the best stories originating from coffee houses.
- **Starbucks**: Modern chain coffee shop setting used as the primary example of modern social failure.
- **London**: General location of historical coffee houses.
- **Hackney**: Area associated with Dudley Ryder, previously a *bucolic Paradise/Arcadia*.
## Numbers & Data
- **300 years ago**: Time frame when London streets were lined with coffee houses.
- **301 years ago**: Approximate time Dudley Ryder dropped into the Hackney coffee house.
- **361 years**: The length of the ritual stretching back to the alleyway.
- **1652**: Year Pascal Ros opened London's first coffee shack.
- **18th century**: Period when there were 3,000 coffee houses in the city.
- **23**: Dudley Ryder's age when he recorded his early experiences.
- **8-10 years**: Time frame associated with the current revival of independent shops.
## Examples & Cases
- **Dudley Ryder's initial visit**: Entering a Hackney coffee house and debating the Jacobite Rebellion with strangers for hours, leaving him feeling *"emancipated and refreshed."*
- **The Latin Coffee House**: Required patrons to speak only in Latin, or face being thrown out.
- **The Grecian Coffee House**: Hosted scientific debates, once featuring the dissection of a dolphin.
- **Hackney Square Coffee House**: Used for "inquisitions of insanity," where patrons would vote on if a suspected madman was truly insane.
- **Don Sto's coffee house**: A museum of monsters where Newton was pictured sipping coffee.
- **Button's in Covent Garden**: Became an *Emporium of wit* where literary reputations were made or broken.
- **Starbucks experience**: Characterized by patrons sitting sequestered, staring at screens, reminiscent of *Nighthawks* by Edward Hopper.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Coffee**: The central commodity, transforming from being compared to "oil, ink, soot, mud" to being recognized for its stimulating effect.
- **Book of poetry**: Item used in an exaggerated demonstration of disruptive behavior.
- **Vanilla Ice latte**: Specific modern beverage mentioned to illustrate poor behavior.
- **Secret diary**: Object used by Dudley Ryder to record his observations.
- **Newspaper**: Medium through which gossip and information (or misinformation) circulated.
- **Pipe**: Common accessory in historical coffee houses.
- **Smartphone or laptop**: Devices representing modern distractions, leading to sequestration.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Coffee House**: Defined as a place where conversation and debate were actively encouraged by the environment and social customs.
- **Emancipatory Space**: The belief that coffee houses freed people from societal strictures and class boundaries.
- **Conviviality**: The optimal atmosphere achieved through shared, intense, face-to-face interaction.
- **Misogynist mindset**: The societal viewpoint preventing women from entering or participating in coffee houses, as they were deemed incapable of rational debate.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Conversation Initiation**: The proper mechanism was not starting a topic but "melting into a conversation already in full flow."
- **Social Standing Acquisition**: Established through the successful navigation and participation in the debates and rituals of the house.
- **The Gossip Economy**: The exchange of "news and gossip," which often consisted of self-made up information, functioned as the primary form of currency.
## Timeline & Events
- **1652**: Date Pascal Ros opened London's first coffee shack.
- **17th-18th century**: Period of immense coffee house proliferation and intellectual activity.
- **Past to present**: The continuum of the coffee house ritual, from necessity to intellectual necessity.
## Examples & Cases
- **The picture of coffee throwing**: Used to illustrate the physical passion of old arguments, contrasting with silent modern behavior.
- **The "Stationary" Starbucks**: Compared to Edward Hopper's *Nighthawks*, depicting isolation rather than interaction.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The critique of Starbucks is admitted to be partly exaggerated for rhetorical effect.
- The narrative acknowledges the sensationalist element in many historical anecdotes ("I just put that in for a joke really").
- The speaker cautions that the current "Renaissance" is not a perfect return to the original intensity.
## Methodology
- Gauge audience participation by asking people to raise hands regarding recent coffee shop visits.
- Comparison technique: Juxtaposing the open debate structure of the past against the sequestered structure of the modern chain.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The ultimate recommendation is a physical action: to *"scan the room for someone you've never seen before,"* sit down, and initiate contact by asking *"what news have you?"*
- The goal of this action is to *"spread the revolution"* back toward true, direct human engagement.
## Implications & Consequences
- Failure to remember face-to-face interaction risks the complete dissolution of barriers between virtual and real life.
- Losing this skill means losing the ability to sustain genuine, level-headed exchange of ideas outside of mediated platforms.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"it was a miracle cure for just about every single ailment he could think of"*
- *"it would trigger a dawn of sobriety that would lay the foundations for spectacular cultural and economic and science scientific growth"*
- *"it was a glorious Emporium of wit"*
- *"your servant sir what news from Tripoli"*
- *"if it was unanimously declared that you were mad you were dragged away to a mad house for the rest of your life"*
- *"I want you to scan the room for someone you've never seen before it can be someone you like the look of"*
- *"what news have you"*