"When he [Mark Steyn] shows no interest in Starbucks, a friend suggests he doesn’t understand coffee culture. What culture? asks Steyn. The coffee houses of 17th-century England were hives of business. They spawned the Stock Exchange and Lloyd’s of London. The coffee houses of 18th-century Paris were hives of ideas: Voltaire, Rousseau and the gang met to thrash out the Enlightenment. What have the coffee houses of 21st-century America spawned? The gingerbread eggnog machiato and an accompanying CD compilation."
Bravo, sir. Much as I love my coffee shop experience, methinks a timely change is in order...
