آية’s Reviews > Coffee and Coffeehouses: The Origins of a Social Beverage in the Medieval Near East > Status Update

Very interesting so far! Starts by talking about the origins of coffee and its use as a drink among Sufis in Yemen, then its spread to Makkah and Cairo. Then it discusses different reasons why it was initially banned by some religious scholars and politicians (1, bc they weren't sure if it was halal, and 2, bc it was associated with bad, immoral, or anti-government/revolutionary behavior in coffeehouses)