Above is an engraving by Johann Georg Schreiber (circa 1732) of the “Zimmermannsche Kaffeehaus” or “Café Zimmermann”, a coffeehouse based in Leipzig, Germany.
Please check out the Wikipedia articles for more goodness (with references), but I thought this stuff was wild:
- Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata entitled Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering), BWV 211
- This secular cantata came to be known as the Coffee Cantata, as the story involves a father trying to get his daughter to stop drinking the stuff by offering to find her a husband
- Café Zimmermann formed the backdrop to the first performances of many of Bach’s secular cantatas, including the Coffee Cantata
- The former coffeehouse was destroyed during can air raid on Leipzig in 1943
- Café Zimmermann is a French classical music ensemble that takes its name from said coffeehouse
Coffee is good. Music is good. History is good.
Grab a good cup o’ Joe and think on these things.