Bean there, done that

CHARLES II described them with some disdain as "places where the disaffected meet and spread scandalous reports concerning the conduct of His Majesty and his Ministers". Today, coffee-house gossip is more likely to cover the events in last night's TV soap operas, but nevertheless, the humble coffee shop remains an important urban social hub, 600 years after the first ones opened in the bustling cities of the Middle East.

The coffee shop has evolved over the centuries, most recently blossoming in the late 1990s in particular, when six impossibly good-looking friends started hanging out in the fictional Central Perk coffee house (and in our living rooms every Friday night), nursing enormous cups of cafe latte and exchanging witty banter on comfortably battered sofas. However, coffee shops in Scotland may be about to evolve further with news that the popular Beanscene chain – which has 16 coffee shops across Scotland and entered administration in July – has been bought over by the chic Fifi & Ally restaurant chain, set up by entrepreneurial cousins Fiona Hamilton and Alison Fielding in 2005. Stylish and upmarket, the Fifi & Ally brand – which currently has two restaurant/retail outlets in Glasgow – isn't one you'd associate with the casually mismatched second-hand furniture and handwritten chalkboards that are typical of most modern coffee shops, Beanscene included. The coffee shop has quickly become our favourite "third space", a cosy, neutral relaxation point somewhere between home and the workplace, while Fifi & Ally are ultimately defined by chicness and elegance with their designer wallpaper, luxurious gifts and homeware and indulgent cakes. So how might coffee culture in Scotland evolve as a result of their takeover?

Yesterday Fiona Hamilton told The Scotsman: "Beanscene and Fifi & Ally are two very different brands, but we've found that they have the same customer base. We'll still be keeping the two separate and keeping Beanscene's bohemian vibe, but sprucing it up a bit.

"(Beanscene has] been a bit neglected," she added tactfully, "so it will get a polish, but the main change we'll be making is expanding the food on offer. Artisan food and quality produce is a key part of the Fifi & Ally ethos and we want to take the same approach with Beanscene, balancing that with the coffee, of course."

Their rivals will no doubt be watching closely to see what the women's touch may bring to an already competitive market. Can Starbucks, Costa, Coffee Republic and their ilk rise to the challenge of coffee outlets that offer more sophisticated food along with the skinny lattes and double espressos?

Certainly, coffee shops are now seriously big business, with 11 million of us visiting a coffee chain for a caffeine fix at least once a week. There are more than 3,000 outlets of branded coffee chains in the UK, with a combined turnover of more than £1.3 billion annually. The market has grown at a rate of more than 15 per cent a year in the past decade, and is set to double again over the course of the next ten years.

"There are so many well established coffee chains around that they're beginning to attempt to differentiate themselves," says Charles Banks of food-and-drink trend forecasters The Food People. "Coffee shops are rapidly evolving and customers are no longer satisfied with a place in which to simply enjoy a normal coffee. We're going to see a lot more hot food introduced, for example: (already] things like wi-fi and more exotic types of coffee – cold coffees and shots of syrup – have become the norm. People want more than just a traditional coffee house and the chains are responding accordingly."

So what next? An on-site masseuse? Not as far-fetched as you might think. The recently opened Boobytrap in Edinburgh, for example, is a coffee shop and a lingerie boutique rolled into one. Coffee houses seem to be becoming less and less about the coffee. But then, were they ever really about the coffee? Perhaps more than anything they offer a quiet, comfortable space to relax and socialise, no frills necessary.

"The format of cosy, comfy coffee shops where you can while away an afternoon in peace and quiet is one that works, and I can't see it changing," says Roger Cook of the British Coffee Association. "Friends had a huge impact on coffee culture in this country and I think the idea of a cosy, informal place to meet a friend for a chat and a coffee really appeals to a lot of people. Why change it?"