They became known as "schools of wisdom" because of the clientele they attracted, and, though political and religious leaders feared the free and frank discourse common in such establishments, their frequent bans on coffeehouses were impossible to maintain.
The historical and social significance of what we drink is the subject of Tom Standage's "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" (Walker; $25), which seems to have grown out of an article on coffeehouses he did for The Economist, where he is the technology editor.
Classic Stage, an Off Broadway theater on East 13th Street, collaborates with Everyman Espresso on a coffeehouse in its lobby that stays open from early morning through each night's intermission.
On the Web site (homecafe.com), the appliance is called "the one-cup coffeehouse".
(Information on the coffeehouse, concert and other Clearwater activities can be found at walkaboutclearwater.net).
Redbird, who now works with schools to "decolonise" the curriculum, performed on the coffeehouse folk circuit and once lived in the same Toronto apartment building as Joni Mitchell.
She settled on a coffeehouse soul approach that favors acoustic instruments and a bluesy foundation — in the same territory as India.Arie, but far less smiley.
If Ms. Horovitch and Mr. Muller enjoy spilling a bit of blue on the coffeehouse turf, perhaps it is because they are both converts themselves, as they explained.
"I don't pierce my nose or my tongue, just both ears/It has to do with balance when you're climbing up in years/Still I know I'm cool, cool to the bone/Sometimes it's not what you see, it's what you don't".' Since 1996 Ms. Bratman has been on the coffeehouse and open mike circuit, and has performed at various folk festivals.
The constancy of a daily paper — in the rack at the convenience store on Frenchman Street or on the tables of the coffeehouse on Maple Street — is a reminder to a city that someone is out there watching.
