Sherlock Holmes and Coffee: Breakfast at 221B Baker Street

Yes, Sherlock Holmes drinks coffee, and quite a lot of it. In Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, Holmes and Dr. Watson take “toast and coffee” at breakfast in “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Holmes plans “a sandwich and a cup of coffee” before a concert in “The Red-Headed League,” and in The Hound of the Baskervilles he gets through two large pots of coffee while thinking in his armchair. Sherlock Holmes coffee moments show up across the canon, usually at breakfast or in the middle of a case.

The original stories were published between 1887 and 1927, and the ones quoted here are in the public domain in the US, so we can look at the actual lines. Here is where coffee appears at 221B Baker Street, what it tells us about Holmes, and what Victorian coffee was really like.

Sherlock Holmes Coffee Moments in the Stories

“A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891)

The very first short story in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes includes a breakfast scene: Holmes and Watson are busy with their “toast and coffee in the morning” when the King of Bohemia bursts into the room. Coffee is simply part of the rhythm of 221B, the backdrop against which cases arrive.

“The Red-Headed League” (1891)

After a morning of investigation, Holmes announces his plan: “A sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land.” He is heading to a concert to clear his mind. It is a perfect Holmes moment, showing coffee as quick fuel between bursts of work and pleasure.

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (1892)

Helen Stoner arrives at Baker Street early in the morning, frightened and trembling. Holmes invites her to sit by the fire and offers to order her “a cup of hot coffee,” observing that she is shivering. Here coffee is hospitality and comfort, and it shows a gentler side of the detective.

“The Five Orange Pips” (1891)

The morning after a stormy night, Watson comes down to find Holmes already at breakfast, and Holmes tells him to ring the bell so the maid will bring up his coffee, another glimpse of the household’s daily routine.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901–1902)

Coffee appears from the opening chapter, when Holmes, with his back turned, explains that he can see Watson in a “well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot.” Later, Watson returns to find the room thick with tobacco smoke. Holmes says that his body has stayed in the armchair and has consumed two large pots of coffee and an incredible amount of tobacco while his mind traveled to Devonshire. It is the best example of coffee as Holmes’s thinking fuel.

Breakfast at 221B Baker Street

Breakfast is one of the great set pieces of the Holmes stories. The landlady, Mrs. Hudson, and the household staff keep the detectives fed, and in “The Naval Treaty” Holmes praises her: her cuisine is a little limited, he says, but she has as good an idea of breakfast as a Scotchwoman. In that story the breakfast table becomes the stage for one of Holmes’s most theatrical reveals.

A Baker Street breakfast in the Victorian style might include eggs, ham or bacon, toast, marmalade and a pot of coffee or tea. Here is a simple version to make at home:

A Baker Street breakfast for two

• 4 eggs, scrambled or soft-boiled
• 4 slices of ham or bacon
• 4 slices of toast with butter and marmalade
• About 24 fl oz (700 ml) of brewed coffee: roughly 1.5 oz (42 g) of medium-ground coffee in a French press
• Warm milk and sugar on the side

1. Heat water to just off the boil and brew the coffee for 4 minutes.
2. While it steeps, cook the ham or bacon, then the eggs.
3. Toast the bread and set out the marmalade.
4. Press the coffee and serve immediately, in the best silver-plated pot you own, if you have one.

New to the French press? Our step-by-step guide on how to use a French press covers grind size and timing.

What Was Victorian Coffee Like?

By Holmes’s time, Britain had become a tea-drinking nation, but coffee still had its place, especially at breakfast in middle-class homes and at street stalls for working Londoners. The great age of the London coffeehouse was the 17th and 18th centuries; you can read about it in our story of the penny universities.

Victorian home coffee was usually brewed in a pot and often served with milk and sugar. Beans were commonly bought roasted from a grocer and ground at home or in the shop. Without airtight bags, coffee would often sit for weeks, so it was probably far less fresh than what you can brew today.

What Coffee Tells Us About Holmes

Coffee in the stories reveals three sides of the detective:

• The thinker: two pots of coffee in The Hound show a mind working at full speed while the body stays still.
• The host: offering hot coffee to a frightened client shows his care for the people who come to him.
• The creature of habit: breakfast coffee anchors the Baker Street routine before the next mystery knocks.

Of course, Holmes is not a role model for moderation. For most healthy adults, the FDA’s general guideline is up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, and people who are pregnant, have a medical condition or take medication should ask their doctor.

Sherlock Holmes Coffee FAQ

Did Sherlock Holmes drink coffee or tea?

Both appear in the stories, but coffee is mentioned in several memorable scenes, from breakfast in “A Scandal in Bohemia” to the two pots of coffee in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Coffee is clearly part of daily life at 221B.

Which Sherlock Holmes story mentions two pots of coffee?

The Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes tells Watson that he has consumed two large pots of coffee and a great deal of tobacco while thinking through the case in his armchair.

Who made breakfast at 221B Baker Street?

The landlady, Mrs. Hudson, runs the household. In “The Naval Treaty,” Holmes praises her breakfast, comparing her favorably with a Scotchwoman.

Are the Sherlock Holmes stories in the public domain?

In the United States, all of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories have entered the public domain. That is why you can find the full texts free online.

Elementary: Start With Fresh Coffee

Holmes would have deduced in seconds whether your coffee was stale. Feel Espresso roasts every order 1–5 days before delivery, so there is nothing to detect but flavor. For a classic breakfast pot, try our English Breakfast tea alongside a bold Cowboy Blend, or keep the case files open with our Breakfast Blend + for extra caffeine.