This is the second talk in our series about everyday commodities and their fascinating histories with Sandy Leong

Mocha, Latte and the Wine of Araby: A short history of our love affair with coffee

In the 17th century it was believed that coffee had medicinal properties; In 1600 Pope Clement gave his permission for Catholics to drink it; the first Coffee House opened in England in the mid 1600’s; Our love affair with the coffee bean goes back several centuries, before becoming a popular drink on the high street.