Initially, coffee was seen as novelty and a snake oil, if you will, as proprietor touted many incredible medical claims. His English coffee was said to aid in digestion, cure headaches, coughs, dropsy, gout, scurvy and even prevent miscarriages. About only claim that was accurate was that English coffee prevented drowsiness.

By 1700, however, coffee had become a very popular beverage and there were more than two thousand coffeehouses in London. Coffeehouses occupied more retail space and paid more rent than any other trade. They came to be known as Penny Universities, because for price of a cup of coffee, one penny, a person could sit for hours and engage in stimulating conversation with educated people.

How can you have a lavish party spread when you are on a tight budget?

If you know most of guests are on a diet, are there to socialize and not there to stuff their faces with food, you could create a lavish feast for eyes, with lots of creativity.

Serve tiny bite size portions that allow your guests to taste everything at table. 

Serve everything on beautiful plates and bowls. Food looks more expensive when served in dishes and bowls that look expensive. Sure, they can use disposable plates and cups so you wouldn't have too much washing up to do, but food on table should look beautiful.

Spread out food. Halve fish balls and sausages so they look more, yet are in lighter, bite sized portions.

Here are some of my favourite party recipes.

Tuna Crisps

A can of tuna, a lemon, an apple and a box of Ritz biscuits or salty crackers are needed for this recipe.

1. Remove all salt water or oil from can of tuna.
2. Squeeze lemon for juice.
3. Chop apple into small bits.
4. Mix tuna, apple and a teaspoon of lemon juice (More or less juice to your taste) to form a paste
5. Arrange biscuits or crackers on a pretty dish..
6. Put half a teaspoon of tuna paste on each biscuit.
7. The extra lemon juice can be mixed with other fruit juices and sodas to form a fruit punch.

Here is another version my friend invented. This is our preferred recipe.

you need a can of tuna, a box of ritz biscuits or salty crackers, a can of campbells cream of chicken soup.

1. Mix that thick condensed soup with drained tuna to make a mushy paste
2. Put half a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of this paste on each cracker or biscuit.

Pineapple Fried Rice

You don't want your guests to go home hungry right? Fried rice should fill them up.

1. Slice sausages
2. Peel and chop up garlic.
3. Cut pineapple lengthwise into 2 halves..
4. Scoop up all fruit within pineapple. Cut fruit into cubes.. Save juice of pineapple to add to your fruit punch.
5. Heat up olive oil and fry garlic.
6. Add sausages and most of pineapple. Save prettier pineapple cubes for cocktail sticks.
7. Add boiled rice and stir thoroughly.
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Take 2 empty halves of pineapple.
10. Serve half fried rice in each half of pineapple.