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The History of Perk ~ 4 Things About Coffee’s History by Gina Conkle

 

Don’t you love your morning java? I do! Flavored coffees and frothy cappuccinos make me happy no matter the season. So, when I dove into “coffee” research for my book The Lady Meets Her Match, I found a few surprises.

4 Coffee Facts:

1. Queen Elizabeth I paved the way for coffee in England

Most people think the morning brew came to England via Pasqua Rosee in 1652 (more on him later). It’s true he commercialized the beverage, but Queen Elizabeth I opened the door when she initiated trade with Africa, chiefly the Moroccan and Ottoman people. From that trade came tea from Asia, coffee from Africa, and chocolate. True, it would be be a long time before the masses met coffee, but credit a woman with being “the first” to bring coffee to England.

2. Ottoman immigrant, Pasqua Rosee, first served coffee from a cart

Unsure of coffee’s acceptance, Pasqua Rosee served coffee from a street-side cart. He pushed a coffee cart around Cornhill’s financial district alongside orange vendors and young women hawking celery and cabbage. Crowds mobbed him. One source claims he sold 900 cups in 1 day! Because of this amazing success, his street side service lasted a few short months. In 1652, he established “Rosee’s Coffee House” (later named “The Turk’s Head”). In addition to coffee, he sold tea, chocolate, tobacco, and a variety of goodies. A plaque honors the site today.

3. For men only

Coffee houses attracted niche crowds. Some appealed to artists. The financial district appealed to merchants and traders. The famous insurer, Lloyds of London, opened for business in Edward Lloyd’s coffee house on Tower St. Covent Garden coffee shops attracted men seeking prostitutes. Early 19^th century records tell of prostitutes drinking their capuchin coffee while waiting for customers. The word capuchin, by the way, comes from red-brown Italian monks’ hoods. Cream cut coffee’s harsh edge, thus giving birth to our modern day cappuccino. Unlike the prostitutes, the rest of the fairer sex didn’t patronize coffee shops. Women could work in coffee shops, but not visit them.

4. A brave woman

In my research, I discovered interesting tidbits. The brew of was described as thick sludge and very dark. Perhaps that’s why the brave Covent Garden ladies cut their drink with cream? While learning about England’s coffee craze, a scintillating fact stood out to me: For 150 years, coffee shops were male-owned — except for 1. Who was that brave woman who dared to open her own coffee house?

 

This singular fact gave birth to The Lady Meets Her Match, a Georgian twist on the Cinderella tale…complete with a coffee shop and a lost shoe.

 

Now you tell me: How do you like your coffee? Got any favorites lattes or cappuccinos?

Blurb:

Rough-around-the-edges, Cyrus Ryland rose from humble origins to become England’s wealthiest citizen and most eligible bachelor. Called the King of Commerce, he thinks nothing of marriage until he hosts a masked ball and discovers an alluring woman hiding in his study. After one dance the lady vanishes, leaving behind a single shoe. The hunt is on, but finding her is only half the battle.

 

Claire Mayhew wants her hard won independence…a mid-town shop of her own. She resists the scorching attraction with Mr. Ryland — her new landlord, but Cyrus isn’t a man who gives up easily.

What if Cinderella doesn’t want her shoe back?

 

            Excerpt:

Miss Mayhew shook her skirts. He frowned, taking great swipes at the mess clinging to his breeches.

“Be reasonable. Even coming here in a hack”—he winced, turning his throbbing head for a view of his back—“can be a bad risk.” He tried to clean the sawdust from his shoulders.

“Let me do that.” Claire stepped behind him and wiped her damp kerchief in long strokes down his back. “As to taking a hack, you’ll be interested to know, Nate and I walked.”

She peeked up at him around his arm, her pretty face impertinent among all that untamed hair. Her tone and bearing matched the prim coffee shop pro­prietress, but the view was brazen tavern maid at the end of her day.

His arms flexed. So, the East Ender gave him up. He wanted to thrash the lad for doing something so foolhardy as bringing Claire here. Too many bad things happened to women in this ward, even those who lived here and knew their way around.

Claire placed a hand high on his arm while her flimsy linen cleaned him. She made small, soft sweeps low, where his spine met his breeches. Her skirts brushed the backs of his exposed calves, something more intimate than their first dance. A wicked need to tease her struck, lightening his mood.

   “I have a better idea for getting my back clean. It involves a copper tub, large enough for two.”

   The swiping slowed. Her hand on his arm lifted, and the loss left his skin cool.

   Perhaps he went too far.

   Then her palm rested on his ribs, settling there. The heat of each curious finger splayed provocatively on his flesh in a lover’s exploratory touch. A heady rush sent a pleasant burn over his already-hot torso.

   “Whatever your plans in that copper tub of yours, I’m sure it’s not safe for a woman like me.” She said softly against his shoulder blade. “Though I’m sure you have some creative ideas.”

   Cyrus looked over his shoulder at her. “Careful, Miss Mayhew, or you’ll admit out loud you want more to happen between us.”

About Gina Conkle

Gina writes Viking and Georgian romance. Her passion for castles and old places —the older and moldier the better— means interesting family vacations. Good thing her husband and two sons share similar passions. When not visiting fascinating places she can be found delving into the latest adventures in cooking, gardening, and chauffeuring her sons.

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