Coffee And Its Effects On The World 's Most Widely Consumed Beverages And One Of The Globe

The Drink of reason, coffee, seems to not have changed much culturally to this day, as when it is brought to the table over 250 years ago (pg. 170). Coffee remains to be the drink over which people meet

Coffee has not only impacted the world socially, but it provides financial means for many countries who export their coffee beans. Just like any alcohol, coffee was a major economic item and it helped the economy grow in many different places.

Why was it so important to Europe 's development that many people 's beverage of choice switched from alcohol to coffee?

A) Coffee originated in Yemen, Arabia where it was viewed as a religious beverage. Over time it spread to Mecca and Cairo, where it became a recreational drink to be drunk in a social manner in large coffee houses. It also became a popular substitute for alcohol, which was banned under Islam. Europeans traveling in the Middle East came upon coffee and coffeehouses and commented on their popularity. But it wasn’t until 1652, when an Armenian servant named Pasqua Rosee opened the first coffee house in London, that coffee transformed from a little known novelty into a wide spread phenomenon. When, in 1658, Cromwell died and public opinion swung in the favor of a new monarchy, coffee houses became central in political debates and commercial business. The trend quickly caught on and coffee houses became fashionable throughout Europe.

Coffee consumption in China is highly concentrated in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Also other cities like Wuhan coffee culture seems to expand. Recently coffee appeals to adventurous young, rich, and urban consumers. This is just because originally coffee is considered as a Western concept to most Chinese consumers. According to Subhuti (2003), the Chinese do not consume coffee because of its potential health value either in terms of modern medical data or traditional Chinese medical concepts. Rather, it has been consumed until now as part of the fascination with western culture that has grown during the past few decades. However the coffee culture is getting well known in China nowadays. Chinese

The caffeine in coffee become an ethical increase over alcohol and have become a fashionable social beverage. It was interesting to see how it started off as this very exotic drink only for the upper class and then turned into what it is now. Coffee is a very fashionable drink that does not cost much that many have led their days with in today’s society.

The “Coffee Wars – The Big Three: Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts” article focuses on the company analysis of the Starbucks brand and how its main competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts, has affected their brand and driven competition higher. Even though there are many companies trying to enter the specialty coffee market, these three companies own the majority of the market share. With Starbucks’ top quality and above average prices they hold a different market than the fast coffee/food market of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks; yet the competitive moves Dunkin’ Donuts has made over the years in order to compete with Starbucks and surpass McDonald’s has driven competition up between all three companies. The competition has stiffened ever more in the past ten years due to the changing economy. This led to “the big three” to come up with different techniques to gain competitive advantage over the other. Although the competition between these companies is to gain most of the market share, consumers are still loyal to a certain brand; this makes it difficult to gain each other’s clientele. McDonald’s continues to appeal to customers who want value and speed, Dunkin’ Donuts focuses on the middle-class, while Starbucks a customer who desires a higher quality product along with being recognized for using the brand.

Coffee is a beverage that is globally consumed, but also a product that has different values in different parts of the world. The role coffee plays in society differs around the world, from the farmers who grew the crops to the people who constantly consume them. Social theoretical perspectives are capable of showing the different roles coffee has in different societies. Symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and Marxism are three theories which show coffee’s role sociologically. These theories show how coffee affects people physically, how it affects them emotionally, how it leads them to have interactions, how it connects different parts of society, and how it’s economically controlled by a select few.

A commodity is a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold. The market treats it as equipment or nearly so with no regard to who produced it. The original producer does not make the “big” money from the good that has become a commodity demanded by consumers. A commodity’s supply and demand is part of one universal market like corn, or wheat. A stereo is something that would not be considered a commodity. Other things are important about a stereo not that it is just a stereo but what brand and quality is in consideration when purchasing a stereo. Demand for one type might be much larger than the demand for another. This is not the case with commodities; they lose differentiation across their supply base. An

Coffee and Tea are two of the most impactful products in our history. These two drinks have played a major role in how society operated in the past all the way up to current times. Without these two drinks, much of what Society knows today will be nonexistent. Coffee impact on our culture is more noteworthy than Tea. Coffee association with innovation, reason, and networking-plus a dash of revolutionary fervor-has a long pedigree (Standage 172).

Coffee has played a major role in the lives of many people around the world. “Yet, poetic as its taste may be, coffee’s history is rife with controversy and politics…[becoming a] creator of revolutionary sedition in Arab countries and in Europe” (Pendergrast xvi). After reading Uncommon Grounds, it is apparent that the history of coffee is intertwined with the aspects of the globalization process, the role of Multi-National Corporations, and global economic issues.

Seeing someone holding a cup of coffee on the street is not unusual at all nowadays. In fact, they are starting to get more common. There are now different varieties to choose from. Shops or cafes also provide a lot of different choices or products to consumers. Prices could range from low to high, depending on what type of coffee beans you have chosen to make the coffee. By adopting the sociological imagination to coffee, it gives us a better understanding of what coffee represents in a social context. Based on the definition by Mills, [the sociological imagination can be defined as] the ability to understand the dynamic relationship between individual lives and the larger society (Ravelli, Bruce and Michelle Webber, 2016). This is basically where individuals have to think outside the box. In this case, we have to think specifically for the object, coffee. For instance, how does it perform its function in the society?

In 1926 Ya Kun’s founder Loi Ah Koon came to Singapore soil as a Chinese immigrant and was hired as an assistant in a Hainanese coffee stall (Loi, 2002). As Loi Ah Koon began to experience the coffee business he then decided to his own coffee stall in Telok Ayer Basin accompanied by 2 Chinese immigrants that later left him to explore their own business somewhere else (Loi, 2002). His business served tea, coffee, toast and egg. Customers would often come to the coffee stall with satisfaction. Ah Koon later then would visit his hometown in China and get married in 1936 (Loi, 2002). His wife came with him in Singapore and she introduced the company’s trademark kaya toast. Loi Ah Koon was passionate in his business. He had to do a lot of sacrifices that made Ya Kun Coffee as successful as it is today.

This case explains the entrepreneurial journey of Sun Kwon Kim, founder and CEO of specialty coffee franchisor Caffebene. The case describes issues and challenges faced by Kim, how he decide on certain issues and problems and what are the innovative initiatives implemented by him in his business ventures.

The drink was no longer just a utilitarian morning stimulant and has a satellite pastime very European style: the windows from floor to ceiling, special atmosphere, soft music, dozens of varieties of coffee. However, besides all this, coffee is a business not only successful, but also has today a huge potential for development.