Miami is a coffee city. See the vibe at the old places we sipped

Whether you sip at a neighborhood ventanita or an upscale spot in Brickell, you are making Miami a coffee town.

We like it strong or milky. In paper cups and fancy mugs. We start our day with a shot for breakfast and a swirl after a good dinner.

We hit the chains and the locals to get our caffeine in the Magic City.

We know what fuels us and where to get our addiction.

Coffee, coffee, coffee, bring it on.

But what was Miami like decades and decades ago, before all this?

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Yes, we drank coffee. But we likely did it at the coffee shop. Don’t confuse that with a coffeehouse.

Hotel coffee shops and neighborhood lunch counters and diners. A waitress or counterman always seemed at the ready to fill a cup, holding a carafe full of dark brew. These were places to get a bottomless cup of coffee for less than a buck.

Let’s take a look at how Miami took its coffee back when, in the days before $8 lattes, through the photo archives of the Miami Herald.

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