The first collection of folksongs was in a section called the Feng of the Shih Ching or Book of Songs, an anthology of 305 lyrics of various types, compiled ca. 600 B. C.. Most of the songs probably were composed and sung between 1000 and 700 B. C but some Sinologists have suggested, that certain lyrics from the Book of Songs may represent much earlier work, dating from the Shang dynasty (as early as ca. 1700 B. C.).

Because of the poems' consistent style, the songs within the Feng, although clearly folksongs taken from different regions, seems to indicate they were revised and polished by court officials. Most of them deal, however, with the lives of the common people--their work, play, festivities, joys, and hardships.

Amazing how things don't change much over the years, on many levels.

So I guess the first coffee houses were actually tea houses.