he thickets[89]. In
1839, in the city of Chicago, one of the minor taverns was known as the
Lake Street coffee house. It was situated at the corner of Lake and
Wells Streets. A number of hotels, which in the English sense might more
appropriately be called inns, met a demand for modest accommodation[90].
Two coffee houses were listed in the Chicago directories for 1843 and
1845, the Washington coffee house, 83 Lake Street; and the Exchange
coffee house, Clarke Street between La Salle and South Water Streets.

[Illustration: TYPES OF COLONIAL COFFEE ROASTERS

The cylinder at the top of the picture was revolved by hand in the
fireplace; the skillets were set in the smouldering ashes]

The old-time coffee houses of New Orleans were situated within the
original area of the city, the section bounded by the river, Canal
Street, Esplanade Avenue and Rampart Street. In the early days most of
the big business of the city was transacted in the coffee houses. The
_bruleau_, coffee with orange juice, orange peel, and sugar, with cognac
burned and mixed in it, originated in the New Orleans coffee house, and
led to its gradual evolution into the saloon.

_How the United States Became a Nation of Coffee Drinkers_

Coffee, tea, and chocolate were introduced into North America almost
simultaneously in the latter part of the seventeenth century. In the
first half of the eighteenth century, tea had made such progress in
England, thanks to the propaganda of the British East India Company,
that, being moved to extend its use in the colonies, the directors
turned their eyes first in the direction of North America. Here,
however, King George spoiled their well-laid plans by his unfortunate
stamp act of 1765, which caused the colonists to raise the cry of "no
taxation without representation."

Although the act was repealed in 1766, the right to tax was asserted,
and in 1767 was again used, duties being laid on paints, oils, lead,
glass, and tea. Once more the colonists resisted; and, by refusing to
import any goods of English make, so distressed the English
manufacturers that Parliament repealed every tax save that on tea.
Despite the growing fondness for the beverage in America, the colonists
preferred to get their tea elsewhere to sacrificing their principles and
buying it from England. A brisk trade in smuggling tea from Holland was
started.

In a panic at the loss of the most promising of its colonial markets,
the British East In