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Café society

Ever since its ninth-century origins in the highlands of Ethiopia, the cultivation and consumption of coffee has been a central element of cultures across the world, as these images from the Royal Geographical Society’s archives show
From humble beginnings as both food and drink for African hill tribes as far back as the ninth century, coffee has evolved into a global phenomenon. Today, it’s one of the world’s most valuable natural commodities, second only to oil. This selection of early photographs captures scenes of coffee production and consumption from around the world

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The Royal Geographical Society Picture Library is an unrivalled resource, containing more than half a million images of peoples and landscapes from all over the world. For further information on image licensing and limited-edition prints, or to search our online collection of more than 7,000 images, visit www.rgs.org/images