Lately I’ve been on the café grind once again. My usual day consists of googling cafes and then taking my laptop with me to work from one. If I’m feeling up to it, I will also rate the café for taste of coffee and excellence of service. What I’ve noticed on my café runs is that unfailingly there will be at least one other person with their laptop out using the free wifi and milking their coffee for all that it’s worth. This got me wondering a lot about our current café culture or Kaffeekultur (as they say here in Germany) and why we as a generation feel the need to work from cafés? One would think that a library is more conducive to getting things done, but from my survey of coffee shops it seems that the café is the choice of Heim (home) for all students (and many non-students). So what is it about cafes?  Is it being seen by others? Do we require validation for our hard work? Is it the community aspect? Is it joining a movement for something greater than you? Is it the history? Is it the coffee?

Coffee culture dates back to 16^th century Turkey, where coffee shops acted as both home to the social lubricant as well as centres for art and culture. Every big European (and non- European) city has at least one famous café where its most known artist or philosopher conducted his/her work. Coffee shops have always been a home to thinkers and artists to unite and exchange ideas. In 16^th century Mecca coffee shops were even outlawed for fear of their starting political uprisings. Because of their relatively affordable prices, coffee places act as a meeting point for the working class to mingle and mix. Many a revolution was started in a conversation at a coffee shop.

Today I would say that coffee culture is perhaps more widespread than in any other time period, with chains like Starbucks leading the move into the new civilization. We’ve all heard the term “coffee break”, designed for working professionals to take a breather from their work. Coffee has moved beyond the beverage and has become a social movement of sorts. In our neck of the woods it is less the coffee place and perhaps more the shisha-café that is most popular as a cultural hub or place for people to socialize (or at least it was pre-Covid). Egyptians prefer a strong glass of tea (shay koshari) with their flavoured pipe of choice. But whatever the form of café, it is clear that there is a connection between a beverage and the milling around with people. The sense of community is key to understanding what draws people to cafés today. Cafés are about coexisting, not just creating.

 Independent cafés have been on the rise in the last decade with their ability to bring together local brands and foster a sense of unity. Today’s coffee place of choice features a carefully selected specialty coffee brewed to perfection in the manner of your choosing. Personally, I like my café with a side of matcha and a curated alt-rock playlist. To get me to come to your coffee shop I just need the promise of relative quiet and any item with the word “organic” on it.

But what coffee shops have most going for them, I believe, is that they offer a place to be seen and unseen. In a coffee shop you’re a part of the work movement, but you are also just a casual joe sipping his/her espresso. I can never disengage and focus on a task as well as I can in a café. Cafés offer the perfect mix of the formal and informal. There is something about being surrounded by others with similar intentions that drives forth our creative power. In a café I am able to tap into the universal consciousness (of sorts) and draw on my productivity in ways that I can’t elsewhere.

What about you?

What drives your creativity?

Are you a café rat or a library bunny?

Caffeinatedly yours,

Girl With One Earring