The coffee served in the coffeehouses wasn't necessarily very good coffee. Because of the way coffee was taxed in Britain (by the gallon), the practice was to brew it in large batches, store it cold in barrels, and reheat it a little at a time for serving. So coffee's appeal in Britain had less to do with being a quality beverage than with being a social lubricant. People went to coffeehouses to meet people of shared interests, gossip, read the latest journals and newspapers--a brand-new word and concept in the 1660s--and exchange information of value to their lives and business. Some took to using coffeehouses as their offices--as, most famously, at Lloyd's Coffee House on Lombard Street, which gradually evolved into Lloyd's insurance market.