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Black and white line drawing of a square building with Leeds Coffee House on a sign over the door

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Illustration of Leeds' Coffee House

Coffee houses first became popular in the 1700s and were famous for the social mixing they enabled - anyone of any class that could afford the penny for a cup of coffee could enter the coffee house and take part in lively conversation. They were revived in the Victorian era with coffee being one of the commodities that Britain imported from its colonies.