倫敦咖啡館的前世今生

The Starbucks on Russell Street near Covent Garden piazza is one of London’s many cloned coffee shops. Can you imagine walking in， sitting next to a stranger and asking for the latest news? Or slamming a recent novel down next to someone’s coffee and asking for their opinion before delivering yours? It’s not the done thing1).

But 300 years ago， precisely this kind of behaviour was encouraged in thousands of coffeehouses all over London. In 1712， the Starbucks site was occupied by Button’s coffeehouse. Inside， poets， playwrights， journalists and members of the public gathered around long wooden tables drinking， thinking， writing and discussing literature into the night. Nailed to the wall， near where the Starbucks community notice board now stands， was the white marble head of a lion with wide-open jaws. The public was invited to feed it with letters， limericks2) and stories; the best of the lion’s digest were published in a weekly edition of Joseph Addison3)’s Guardian newspaper， entitled “the roarings of the lion.”

Today， not even a blue plaque4) commemorates Button’s. It’s just one of London’s forgotten coffeehouse sites.

London’s first coffeehouse (or rather， coffee stall) was opened by an eccentric Greek named Pasqua Roseé in 1652. While a servant for a British Levant merchant in Smyrna， Turkey， Roseé developed a taste for the exotic Turkish drink and decided to import it to London. People from all walks of life swarmed5) to his business to meet， greet， drink， think， write， gossip and jest， all fuelled by coffee.

Before long， the ale house and tavern keepers of Cornhill could only look on despairingly as Pasqua sold over 600 dishes of coffee a day. Worse still， coffee came to be portrayed as an antidote6) to drunkenness， violence and lust; providing a catalyst7) for pure thought， sophistication and wit. Roseé had triggered a coffeehouse boom and his “bitter Mohammedan gruel8)” would transform London forever.

By 1663 there were 82 coffeehouses within the old Roman walls of the City. They arose from the ashes of the Great Fire9) and went on to survive Charles II’s attempt to crush them in 1675. It concerned the king that for a measly one-penny entrance fee anyone could discuss politics freely. The term “coffee-house politician” referred to someone who spent all day cultivating pious opinions about matters of high state and sharing them with anyone who’d listen. Although some coffeehouses had female staff， no respectable woman would wish to be seen inside these premises and the Women’s Petition Against Coffee (1674) bemoaned10) how the “newfangled11)， abominable12)， heathenish13) liquor called coffee” had transformed their industrious， virile men into effeminate14) babbling layabouts15) who idled away their time in coffeehouses.

The men took no notice and London became a city of coffee addicts. By the dawn of the eighteenth century， contemporaries counted over 3，000 coffeehouses in London.

Early coffeehouses were not clones of each other; many had their own distinct character. The walls of Don Saltero’s Chelsea coffeehouse were adorned with exotic taxidermy16)， a talking point for local gentlemen scientists; at Lunt’s in Clerkenwell Green， patrons could sip coffee， have a haircut and enjoy a fiery lecture on the abolition of slavery given by its barber-proprietor; at Moll King’s， a near neighbour of Button’s in Covent Garden， libertines could sober up17) after a long night of drinking. There was even a floating coffeehouse， the Folly of the Thames， moored outside Somerset House18)， where jittery dancers performed waltzes and jigs late into the night.

Despite these diversifications， coffeehouses all followed the same formula， maximising the interaction between customers and forging a creative， convivial environment. On entering， patrons would be engulfed in smoke， steam， and sweat and assailed by cries of “What news have you?” or， more formally， “Your servant， sir， what news from Tripoli?” Rows of well-dressed men in periwigs would sit around rectangular wooden tables strewn with every type of media imaginable—newspapers， pamphlets， prints， manuscript newsletters， ballads， even playing cards. Unless it was a West End19) or Exchange Alley coffeehouse， the room would be cosy but spartan20)—shaved wooden floors， no cushions， wainscoted walls， candles， the odd spittoon. In the distance， a little Cupid-like boy in a flowing periwig would bring a dish of coffee. It would cost a penny and come with unlimited refills. Once a drink was provided， it was time to engage with21) the coffeehouse’s other visitors.

Conversation was the lifeblood of coffeehouses. From coffeehouses all over London， Samuel Pepys22) recorded fantastical tales and metaphysical discussions—of voyages “across the high hills in Asia above the clouds” and the futility of distinguishing between a waking and a dreaming state. Listening and talking to strangers—sometimes for hours on end23)—was a founding principle of coffeehouses yet one that seems most alien to us today.

Debates culminated in verdicts. In Covent Garden， the Bedford Coffeehouse had a “theatrical thermometer” with temperatures ranging from “excellent” to “execrable.” Playwrights dreaded walking into the Bedford after the opening night of their latest play to receive judgment as did politicians walking into the Westminster coffeehouses after delivering speeches to Parliament. The Hoxton Square Coffeehouse was renowned for its inquisitions of insanity， where a suspected madman would be tied up and wheeled into the coffee room. A jury of coffee drinkers would view， prod and talk to the alleged lunatic and then vote on whether to incarcerate24) the accused in one of the local madhouses. Coffeehouses were democratic theatres of judgment. The way you dressed， your quick-wittedness， even the way you held your spoon—all were assiduously25) monitored and discussed.

Coffeehouses brought people and ideas together; they inspired brilliant ideas and discoveries that would make Britain the envy of the world. The first stocks and shares were traded in Jonathan’s coffeehouse by the Royal Exchange (now a private members’ club); merchants， ship-captains， cartographers26)， and stockbrokers coalesced27) into Britain’s insurance industry at Lloyd’s on Lombard Street (now a Sainsbury’s); and the coffeehouses surrounding the Royal Society galvanized28) scientific breakthroughs. Isaac Newton once dissected a dolphin on the table of the Grecian Coffeehouse.

But how much of this burst of innovation can be traced back to the drink itself? For those accustomed to silky-smooth flat whites brewed with mathematical precision in one of London’s cafes， the taste of eighteenth-century coffee would be completely unpalatable29). People in the eighteenth century found it disgusting too， routinely comparing it to ink， soot， mud， damp and， most commonly， excrement. But it was addictive， a mental and physical boost to punctuate the working day， and a gateway to inspiration; the taste was secondary.

The flavours found in the latest incarnation of London cafes are undoubtedly superior， but the vanishing opportunities for intellectual engagement and spirited debate with strangers have been quite a trade-off30).

倫敦有著眾多千篇一律的咖啡館，位于羅素大街考文特花園廣場旁的星巴克便是其中的一家。你是否能想象這樣的場景：信步走入咖啡館中，挨著一個陌生人坐下，向他打聽一下最新的新聞？或是把一本新近出版的小說啪的一聲甩在別人的咖啡旁，先問問此人對這本書的看法，然后再說說自己的意見？在今天看來，這樣的做法有點不太正常。

但在三百年前，整個倫敦數(shù)以千計的咖啡館里所推崇的正是上述這樣的做法。如今的星巴克店址在1712年曾是巴頓咖啡館的所在地。彼時，詩人、劇作家、記者以及普通大眾在巴頓咖啡館齊聚一堂，他們圍坐在長木桌旁啜飲咖啡、沉思冥想、書寫文字、暢談文學，直至深夜。巴頓咖啡館的墻上還釘著一個白色的大理石獅子頭(就在如今星巴克的社區(qū)公告欄附近)，獅口大開，是在邀請公眾將信件、五行打油詩以及故事等投入其中?！蔼{子文摘”里最精彩的文章會被刊登在約瑟夫·艾迪生的《衛(wèi)報》周刊上，題為“獅子的咆哮”。

現(xiàn)如今，人們甚至連一塊紀念巴頓咖啡館的藍色牌匾都找不到了。巴頓咖啡館只是倫敦一個被遺忘的咖啡館舊址而已。

倫敦的第一家咖啡館(更確切地說是咖啡攤)是由一個古怪的希臘人于1652年開設的，這個人叫巴斯卡·羅素。羅素曾為英國利凡特公司一名駐土耳其士麥那的商人做過隨從，期間他對富有異國情調的土耳其飲品產(chǎn)生了興趣，于是決定將其引入倫敦。羅素在倫敦開設咖啡館后，各色人等蜂擁而至，在咖啡館里聚朋會友、寒暄問候、啜飲咖啡、深思冥想、書寫文字、閑聊漫談、說笑打趣。在咖啡的刺激下，所有人都很興奮。

沒多久，巴斯卡一天就能賣出六百多份咖啡了，康恩希爾地區(qū)的啤酒屋和小酒館的老板們對此只有望洋興嘆的份兒。讓他們感到更糟的是，在人們眼中，咖啡慢慢變成了醫(yī)治醉酒、消除暴力和緩解欲望的良藥，并成為純潔思想、豐富閱歷和增長智慧的催化劑。羅素引發(fā)了咖啡館業(yè)的繁榮，他那被稱作“穆罕默德苦粥”的咖啡也永遠地改變了倫敦。

時至1663年，倫敦市的古羅馬城墻內(nèi)共有82家咖啡館，它們是在“倫敦大火”的廢墟上建起來的。1675年，查理二世試圖“掃清”這些咖啡館，但它們還是逃過此劫，幸存了下來。當時，讓查理二世國王擔心的是任何人只需區(qū)區(qū)一便士的入館費就可以自由地談論時政。那時有一種說法叫“咖啡館政客”，指的就是這樣一類人，他們整日泡在咖啡館里不切實際地思考國家事務，并與周圍任何樂于傾聽的人分享自己的看法。盡管有些咖啡館有女工，但體面的女士是不希望自己出現(xiàn)在那樣的場所的。1674年的《女性抵制咖啡請愿書》里曾如此哀嘆道，“這種既新奇又可惡、被人稱為咖啡的異教徒的飲料”已經(jīng)把她們勤勞、強健的男人們變成了女里女氣、喋喋不休的懶漢，他們只知道在咖啡館里荒廢時光。

男人們對此并沒有在意，倫敦到處都是喝咖啡成癮的人。18世紀初，據(jù)當時的人統(tǒng)計，倫敦擁有三千多家咖啡館。

早期的咖啡館并不是千篇一律的，許多咖啡館都有自己獨特的風格。比如，唐·撒爾特羅開設的切爾西咖啡館的墻壁上裝飾有富有異國情調的動物標本，這可是當?shù)丶澥靠茖W家們的談資之一。在位于克拉肯威爾格林的倫特咖啡館，顧客們可以一邊呷著咖啡，一邊理發(fā)，同時還能欣賞兼任理發(fā)師的店主有關廢除奴隸制的激情演講。在離考文特花園巴頓咖啡館不遠的摩爾·金咖啡館，浪子們經(jīng)過長夜痛飲后可以在這里慢慢清醒。甚至還有一家水上咖啡館——泰晤士河上的芙利，就停泊在薩默賽特宮外面，激情的舞者在那兒表演華爾茲和吉格舞，直至深夜。

盡管咖啡館各具特色，但都遵循同樣的模式，那就是最大程度地增進顧客間的相互交流，營造一個富有創(chuàng)意且令人愉悅的氛圍。顧客一走入咖啡館，就會感受到撲面而來的煙霧、水汽和汗味，有人會扯著嗓子問你：“帶來什么消息沒有？”也有人問得更為正式：“尊敬的閣下，請問的黎波里有什么新聞嗎？” 衣著講究、戴著假發(fā)的男人們圍坐在幾排長方形的木桌旁，桌上散放著你能想到的各種傳播媒介——報紙、小冊子、印刷刊物、信札手稿、民謠，甚至還有撲克牌。除了倫敦西區(qū)和交易巷的咖啡館外，其他的咖啡館都布置得很舒適，不過也很簡樸——地上鋪著打磨過的木地板，沒有墊子，墻上鑲有壁板，備有蠟燭和造型特別的痰盂。遠處，一個戴著蓬松假發(fā)、酷似丘比特的小男孩端來一份咖啡?？Х葍r值一便士，喝完還可以無限次免費續(xù)杯。一旦咖啡在手，你就該加入到咖啡館其他顧客的談天論地中去了。

顧客間的交流是咖啡館保持活力的源泉。塞繆爾·佩皮斯記錄下了倫敦各個咖啡館里所談論的奇談怪事以及各種“形而上”的討論，比如“越過亞洲高山”的旅行，以及弄清夢醒與夢境的區(qū)別是如何徒勞無益。傾聽陌生人的談話并與他們進行交流——有時會持續(xù)幾個小時——是咖啡館生活的基本原則，但這一原則在今天的我們看來卻十分陌生。

在咖啡館里，所有的爭論最終都以裁決而告終。在考文特花園的貝德福特咖啡館有一支“戲劇溫度計”，其溫度區(qū)間從“極好”到“極差”皆有。劇作家們在其新劇的首映夜后是不敢走入貝德福特咖啡館接受評判的，這與政客們在議會上發(fā)表演講后不敢步入威斯敏斯特咖啡館接受評判是一個道理?；艨怂诡D廣場咖啡館以其對精神錯亂者的訊問而聞名。誰要是被懷疑精神錯亂，就會被捆綁起來推進這間咖啡館。由咖啡館的顧客組成的陪審團對這位疑似精神錯亂者進行觀察、刺激，并與其交談，然后投票決定是否將此人關入當?shù)氐哪臣揖癫≡??？Х瑞^里上演著民主審判。你的穿著打扮、你的敏捷才思，甚至你握湯匙的方式——所有這些都會被人持續(xù)地關注和議論著。

咖啡館將人們聚集在一起，同時也匯集了人們的思想，這里激發(fā)的奇思妙想與偉大發(fā)現(xiàn)足以使英國成為全世界艷羨的對象。世界上首批股票與證券交易就發(fā)生在喬納森咖啡館，由皇家交易所(目前為一家私人會所)主辦；在朗伯德街上的勞埃德咖啡館(現(xiàn)在是一家塞恩斯伯里超市)，商人、船長、地圖繪制者和股票經(jīng)紀人聯(lián)合起來，共同促成了英國的保險業(yè)；此外，皇家學會周圍的咖啡館還激發(fā)了科學的突破性進展。艾薩克·牛頓就曾在希臘咖啡館的桌子上解剖過一只海豚。

但在這股創(chuàng)新潮的背后，咖啡本身所起的作用又有多大呢？今天的人們已經(jīng)習慣了倫敦那些獨立經(jīng)營的咖啡館里經(jīng)過精確計算煮出來的咖啡，它們加了牛奶，口感絲滑、味道寡淡。對于這些人來說，18世紀的咖啡喝起來完全是難以下咽。其實，當時的人們也覺得咖啡令人作嘔，經(jīng)常將其比作墨水、煤灰、泥巴、瓦斯等，最常見的是將其比作糞便。不過，咖啡容易使人上癮，工作之余喝點咖啡會讓人頭腦清醒、體力充沛，并能激發(fā)靈感；至于味道好壞，倒在其次了。

在現(xiàn)如今的倫敦咖啡館，咖啡的味道自然好得多了，但那種在咖啡館與陌生人進行思想交流和熱烈辯論的氛圍卻逐漸消失殆盡，正所謂有得必有失。

1.the done thing：(在某種特定的社會形態(tài)下)正確的行為方式

2.limerick [?l?m?r?k] n. 五行打油詩

3.Joseph Addison：約瑟夫·艾迪生(1672~1719)，英國散文家、詩人、劇作家以及政治家，曾創(chuàng)辦著名雜志《閑談者》(Tatler)與《旁觀者》(Spectator)。

4.plaque [pl?k] n. 匾額，銘碑，飾板

5.swarm [sw??(r)m] vi. 云集，涌往

6.antidote [??nt??d??t] n. [醫(yī)]解毒劑

7.catalyst [?k?t?l?st] n. 催化劑

8.gruel [?ɡru??l] n. 稀粥

9.Great Fire：倫敦大火，發(fā)生于1666年9月2日至9月5日，是英國倫敦歷史上最嚴重的一次火災，期間倫敦大約六分之一的建筑被燒毀，包括87間教堂、44家公司以及約13， 000間民房。

10.bemoan [b??m??n] vt. 哀嘆，對……表示惋惜或悲傷

11.newfangled [?nju??f??ɡ(?)ld] adj. 新奇的，新制的

12.abominable [??b?m?n?b(?)l] adj. 討厭的，令人憎惡的

13.heathenish [?hi?e(?)n??] adj. 異教徒的

14.effeminate [??fem?n?t] adj. 柔弱的，女人氣的

15.layabout [?le???ba?t] n. 懶惰或閑散的人；游手好閑者

16.taxidermy [?t?ks??d??(r)mi] n. 動物標本剝制術

17.sober up：清醒起來

18.Somerset House：薩默賽特宮，倫敦市中心一座華美的新古典主義宮殿。15世紀時這里曾是都鐸王朝的宮殿，到18世紀成為英國一些重要的團體組織的總部。

19.West End：倫敦西區(qū)，與紐約百老匯齊名的世界兩大戲劇中心之一，是表演藝術的國際舞臺，也是英國戲劇界的代名詞。

20.spartan [?spɑ?(r)t(?)n] adj. 簡樸的

21.engage with：參加，投入

22.Samuel Pepys：塞繆爾·佩皮斯(1633～1703)，17世紀英國作家、政治家、海軍大臣，以散文和流傳后世的日記而聞名。

23.on end：連續(xù)地

24.incarcerate [?n?kɑ?(r)s?re?t] vt. 把……關進監(jiān)獄，監(jiān)禁，幽閉

25.assiduously [??s?dj??sli] adv. 不停地，不懈地

26.cartographer [kɑ?(r)?t?ɡr?f?] n. 地圖制作者，制圖師

27.coalesce [?k????les] vi. 接合，聯(lián)合

28.galvanize [?ɡ?lv?na?z] vt. 喚醒，刺激，激勵

29.unpalatable [?n?p?l?t?b(?)l] adj. 味道差的

30.trade-off：交換，交易