From Sufi mystics in 16th-century Yemen to hipster baristas in cities across the world today, the history of this caffeinated beverage is a long and fascinating one. For our latest everything you wanted to know episode, Rob Attar is joined by Professor Jonathan Morris to explain how coffee and coffee houses conquered the world – and why you shouldn’t order a latte in Milan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history and social impact of coffee. From its origins in Ethiopia, coffea arabica spread through the Ottoman Empire before reaching Western Europe where, in the 17th century, coffee houses were becoming established. There, caffeinated customers stayed awake for longer and were more animated, and this helped to spread ideas and influence culture. Coffee became a colonial product, grown by slaves or indentured labour, with coffea robusta replacing arabica where disease had struck, and was traded extensively by the Dutch and French empires; by the 19th century, Brazil had developed into a major coffee producer, meeting demand in the USA that had grown on the waggon trails. With Judith Hawley Professor of 18th Century Literature at Royal Holloway, University of LondonMarkman Ellis Professor of 18th Century Studies at Queen Mary University of LondonAndJonathan Morris Professor in Modern History at the University of HertfordshireProducer: Simon Tillotson