Coffee and the Coffee Houses in London

In 1650, the very first British coffee house was opened by a Jewish businessman in Oxford. Early London coffee houses were places where news was read and discussed. They even garnered the nickname Penny Universities because a patron could pay a penny at the door to step into a world of culture and conversation. But Liz Stride's life spiral downward as her drinking landed her in court on charges of being drunk and disorderly. She took to pleading mainly for the Jews and it was said that she could speak Yiddish.