Chapter 1: Before Coffee - Wine, Taverns, and Public Life

Long before the first coffee bean arrived in France, the French had already mastered the art of social drinking. Medieval taverns and wine shops, known as cabarets, served as the original social hubs where people gathered to escape the confines of cramped living quarters and engage in public life. These establishments, with their rough wooden tables and smoky interiors, laid the groundwork for what would become café culture.

In 16th century Paris, taverns were democratic spaces where social classes mingled more freely than anywhere else in rigidly hierarchical French society. Artisans, merchants, students, and even aristocrats seeking adventure would gather to drink wine, share news, and debate the issues of the day. The tradition of the comptoir (counter) where patrons stood to drink quickly and cheaply, dates back to these early establishments.