In belated celebration, here is a link to The Oatmeal's 15-ish Things Worth Knowing About Coffee.
One addition from your host: it wasn't just Charles II who closed coffee houses--the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV earlier banned coffee because of its association with subversive elements. He even had people executed for violating the ban--sometimes doing the killing himself.
Murad IV: Not known for his whimsy.
Harsh.
Then again, I imagine caffeinated Janissaries could be difficult to manage.
