Coffeehouses In North America

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

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 quickly became the drink of intellect and industry being known to sharpen the mind. Taverns were replaced with a more sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse. These “led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought.” [4]

With 11,000 plus coffeehouses worldwide, it is evident that their strategy of being passionate about their customer relation and their devotion to delivering a quality product goes beyond culture and language.

By 1700 England becomes the largest consumer of coffee. Coffee becomes known as the drink of commerce because the merchant class welcomed the drink without any hesitation.

2. Coffeehouses were places where respectable people could afford to be seen; they were also placed to go to for gossip, rumor, satirical discussion and political debates. Coffeehouses played a big role in bringing people with different status’ and social class together.

Why did coffeehouses, with their “relaxed atmosphere which encouraged discussion, speculation, and exchange of ideas” (Standage 159) produce the Financial

Coffee brews under a drip of scalding water, beans grind in the gears of a metal mechanism set atop the bar, and the chatter of patrons syncs with the sound of steaming milk in each Starbucks cafe chain. Like most cafes, the aroma of Arabica overwhelms all others, natural light shines in through the windows to touch the wooden tables, and the murmurs of conversations can be heard throughout the edifice. However, whereas the plebeian palate that feigns good taste finds pleasure in drinking coffee in its most basic form so that the true flavors of the drink might be relished, the rising youth of our post-modern society realize that coffee is best prepared when the taste of the bean is overwhelmed by various artificial flavors and sugars—undoubtedly cancerous but utterly unimportant. These developing connoisseurs of high society, with all their charm and intelligence, make it clear that Starbucks is the only cafe from which anyone who is anyone must buy one’s coffee. Starbucks, truly a place for the cultural and coffee elite, consistently attracts three intriguingly eccentric and completely loyal customers of both sharp wit and fine intellect: the female Women’s Studies major, the flagrant homosexual male, and the out-of-place conservative.

One of those important objects is coffee; there are three coffee mugs for the three people. The coffee allows the customers to be grounded within the scene and gives them a place to go when there is nowhere else to go. Gordon Theisen powerfully states, “Without their coffee, the customers would have no excuse to linger. They would have to leave the diner, to go… where?” By this we could say getting a cup of coffee brought people a sense of belonging and peace.

Bloomington is a traditional Democratic college town. The city limits are filled with farming cooperatives, community bike shops, farmers markets, and non-franchised coffee shops. It’s shops like these that help define Bloomington from any other city in America. But what do these coffee shops mean in other parts of the United States? Within the past few years, cities have been classified as “hip:” fun cities for the average twenty-something. Some hipster cities are San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Burlington, Vermont; and Bloomington, Indiana. These cities have numerous similarities with one resounding smell: coffee.

This in reality makes for coffee shops today be a better public sphere than the England 17th century model because it allows for even more people to be accepted and enjoy the cultures of coffeehouses.

This particular field site attracted me thanks to its nature: a local and philanthropic coffee shop that has a mission to sell great, locally organised coffee while giving back to the community that raised it up. I thoroughly support and encourage businesses, especially small ones, that want to make a difference when they can in the community – whether it be a retail store, restaurant, or café. My purpose of studying this café will be to not only understand what Avenue Coffee is, its origins, and how it conducts its business, but the actual investigation of how this socially constructed meeting place originated and the act of drinking coffee and socialising developed as a particular place – or rather, how it became “a thing to do”. I will observe the demographics of this particular café’s customers, to see what drives them to visit such a location – such as its appeal – and how drinking a coffee and utilising this location fits in society.

Coffeehouses also played an important role in the development of financial markets and newspapers. Historians often associate English coffeehouses, during the 17th and 18th centuries, with the intellectual and cultural history of the Age of Enlightenment: they were an “alternate sphere”, supplementary to the university.

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.