Why a Coffeehouse?
I will start by saying something more or less disturbing: I am not a big coffee drinker. Sure, I used to drink coffee everyday at work, but this was more of necessity than pleasure: I am not a morning person. If I drink too much coffee I get giddy and antsy and rather short-tempered.
That being said, I do admire coffee for the following reasons:
- It’s dark. There is a purely earthly quality to coffee in its dark and ‘thick’ nature. In other words, there is a mystery in coffee that only coffee addicts can explain. It has the potential of creating a haven and a world of its own making.
- It’s liquid. I see the element of water as a symbol of the uniting fluid that lies beneath all things. Thus, in my mind, coffee stimulates esoteric discussion. Its fluidity is also given by the endless combination of coffee products that exist: mocha, Americano, cappuccino, frappucino etc.
- It’s fiery. Coffee gives that boost that people need in coping with the ‘real’ world. People come in a coffeehouse, drink a cappuccino and leave refreshed and energized to their own purposes.
That coffee is such a potent substance is witnessed by the sprawling of coffeehouses at almost every crossroads of the city. For me, coffeehouses have taken the place of marketplaces in the modern city: they are the place where people meet, exchange ideas, do business, chill out during the day. Yet there is also a specific feel to them:
- their somewhat brooding quality (due to the darkness of coffee) conducive to thinking, reading, listening to ambient music, daydreaming, languish internet browsing. In coffeehouses, time seems to flow a bit slower. If you don’t believe me, look outside the windows of coffeehouses: people walk fast out there.
- their conduciveness to interaction: coffeehouses encourage people to meet, talk, debate and share. People that sit alone tend to engage in some form of discussion on cell phones, internet chatrooms and email, or even in self-questioning!
- their indulging quality: people take pleasure in coffee with whipped cream on top, or in a cheesecake. Guilty pleasures include listening to someone else’s conversation or glimpsing at the title on someone else’s book on the table…
- Its haven-like quality: coffeehouses lie slightly outside of mainstream reality. The ‘real’ world is just outside of the window, but the thin glass protects the coffee drinkers from this world of work, grocery shopping, rain or sirens. Yet, it is important to note that the coffeehouse does also remain part of the ‘real’ world through its perpetual connection through newspapers, TV news, debates, books, cell phones and live chatting.
PS. I have tried to find some good reading on the history of coffee, but I only found tidbits here and there and some abhorrently badly designed sites. In the end, I have decided to publish an article on it myself. It’s in the making…
