Coffee Culture

Coffee Culture is mainly about social gatherings that depend on Coffee. This culture is unique because anyone in the world can relate to Coffee Culture since it is all around us, even when we don’t notice it. For students its a study gathering or coffee is their source of energy to get through the day, for others is just a hot drink that it cannot miss in the mornings. In this blog im going to talk about the importance and evolution of Coffee Culture. 

How It All Started

Coffee Culture has existed way back in the 14th century in Turkey but it became more recognized and popularized in the 17th and 18th century in London since coffee shops became a social spot for intellectuals and artists that came to discuss their works or even to write on projects. In fact coffee was described by intellectuals as “an intoxicant, a euphoric, a social and physical stimulant, and a digestive aid” .

For many years Coffeehouse have been “places for renegotiating the social hierarchy and for challenging the social order” , as time continued its course Coffeehouse became a place for the “Cafe Society” in the late 19th century in New York, Paris and London. Now this was a place in which famous people or people with money came and just gathered around a fashionable Cafe restaurant.

The best thing about Coffee Culture is that anyone can be in it, thats what so unique about it because there are multiple variations of coffee for anyone, besides the pastries and food that some coffee places sell are amazing so you don’t necessarily need to drink coffee in order to be part of the Coffee Culture, since this culture is about interacting  with one another. 

 

Coffee Around The World

There are so many traditions of Coffee Culture around the world. For example, Italians, Turkish and Cubans, they all drink coffee differently therefore having different cultures and traditions of drinking coffee. 

Italy

The Italians mainly drink Espresso in the morning before 11 AM, it is not acceptable to drink coffee after this hour and the Espresso is a strong type of coffee that is served in a small cup that has to be consumed inmidietly after ordering. No take out for an Espresso in Italy. 

Turkey

A famous Turkish proverb says that coffee should be “as black as hell, as strong as death and as sweet as love.” Turkish are a bit different from the way they serve coffee since it is traditionally served after a big meal, followed with some sort of candy to alleviate the bitterness of the coffee. 

Cuba

The way Cuba drink their coffee represents other Latin American cultures as well. I can relate with the way Cubans drink their coffee since I’m from Honduras, we do like our coffee strong and it does not matter the time of day it can be morning, afternoon, or even at night, especially after every meal it’s like a tradition.

Image by: Artem Beliakin on Pexels.com

Influence of Coffee in Society

Personally drinking coffee or being in a coffee shop is a great social part of my life because these places are organized in a way that you feel comfortable and warm just like at home and even better while you are having a conversation with someone or working/studying with your friends. 

“One study found that offering coffee in the lounge area of a nursing home encouraged increased social interaction”(coffee and health) this social interaction brings people together all over the world since coffee is the second most popular drink in the world after water. It has an impact on everyone even if you don’t drink coffee, it is not some sort of cult that MAKES you drink coffee inside the coffee shops. It is just an opportunity for people to connect with one another. 

 

Image by: Helena Lopes from Pexels.com

 

Language

Language in the Coffee Culture is rich and unique, Ill give a few important words with its meaning that might help you when ordering your first coffee if you haven’t tried it yet. 

Espresso: it’s a 1oz or 2oz cup of ground coffee oftenly strong and served with no milk just straight black. The three major parts that an espresso should have is The sweet crema( on the top) which is like a very thin foam mixed with water, then The Body which is the main part of the espresso and at the bottom The Heart, within the heart of the espresso shot are the shot’s bitter qualities which balance out the sweetness of the crema and the Espresso’s aroma.

Latte: is a little bit of espresso and a lot of milk within a cap of foam. served between 10oz and up.

Latte Macchiato: is a Latte made by pouring the espresso last and then on top foam and milk. 

Macchiato: the word itself is an Italian word that mean “to stain”. So a Macchiato is a single or double shot of an Espresso, marked or stained with a little bit of foam or milk. 

Mocha: it is named after a popular drink made by Portuguese traders at the port of Mocha. It is a drink made with chocolate, espresso, steamed milk, and topped whip cream. 

Photo by Firdaus Roslan on Unsplash

These are some examples of “Language” in the Coffee Culture I really hope this can be useful for you sometime. I want to say that Coffee is a big part of my life, I’ve been drinking coffee since I was little, it might have not been healthy for a 7 year old but it was part of my culture and tradition back home and it still is, this is mainly why I choose to write about Coffee Culture and explore more about other traditions around the world.

I think Coffee itself is more than just a drink, without coffee some things would have been completely different, for example the show “Friends” it would not be the same without coffee, 6 friends would not be joining at a Central Perk drinking coffee. Imagine that!