hi! there's room for depth on this, but meanwhile you might be interested in a few posts that touch on the intellectual activities in coffeehouses

• Could coffee be a cause of the Industrial Revolution?

• When did Tea and Coffee become cheap enough for the masses?

• In 17th Century Europe, how were coffee and coffeehouses viewed?

• How did bacon, eggs, sausage, milk and cereal, etc come to be considered "breakfast food" instead of just any-time food?

• and you may get some ideas for other sources here In a world of spices and seasonings, how did it come to be that Salt & Pepper are the primary Western staples?

It was a casual place people could gather, talk, and relax. As oppose to a bar with was usually filled with alcohol and other vices to distract from intellectual conversations