History

From Ethiopia to Vienna – the first coffee house
In 1554 the first coffee house was opened in Constantinople, then capital of the Ottoman Empire. Coffee became popular in Europe at the end of the 16th century, after a prosperous merchant from Venice had brought the drink to Italy. Another century passed before coffee reached the rest of the European continent. In Paris coffee houses were soon opened to serve the new drink to the public. The first coffee house in Vienna was opened in 1683 after the defeated Ottoman Turkish siege army left behind 500 bags of coffee beans. In 1862 Julius Meinl started roasting coffee in his new store and selling it in individual amounts – making Julius Meinl a synonym for Viennese coffee.

By the way: the first “modern” Espresso machine was presented at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1855 . It was developed by an engineer from Milan, Italy called Luigi Bezzera. In 1901 it was first produced industrially. Its most important feature was to be able to quickly prepare a fresh cup of coffee.