Coffee Culture around the World
How this Popular Drink Is Made and Consumed in Different Countries
Sep 1, 2008
A Turkish proverb says that coffee should be ‘as black as hell, as strong as death and as sweet as love.’ While global coffee chains such as Starbucks have played a major role in introducing concepts such as the frappuccino, tall skinny latte and soyaccino into the lives of millions, many countries still maintain strong ideas about what makes a good coffee and how it should be consumed.
Coffee in Turkey, for example, still adheres to the adage above: the beans are ground very fine, added to water and brought to the boil three times in a long-handled brass pot called an ibrik. Sugar and sometimes also cardamom are then added. As this thick, sweet mass is drunk, the grounds sink to the bottom of the cup, and some people believe it is possible to read the future in the patterns the grounds form.
In Italy, coffee is usually consumed standing up; and while a short, dark espresso can be consumed at any time of day, a cappuccino after midday is ‘not done’. This is because it is a milky drink, and therefore considered too heavy on the stomach to be consumed after meals. The Dutch, on the other hand, see nothing wrong with drinking both cappuccinos and lattes after meals and in the evening. The French usually start their days with big bowls of steaming café au lait; while the Germans are partial to a cup of coffee during social get-togethers that have become known as kaffeeklatschen after the beverage that accompanies them.
From Bean to Cup: the History of Coffee
Today, 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed annually, according to coffee cooperative Boresha International, and the drink has overtaken tea in popularity for the first time. This popularity has been slow in coming, however.
Legend has it that coffee was first discovered more than a thousand years ago by an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi. He noticed that his goats became unusually frisky after eating the berries from a particular bush. Out of curiosity, Kaldi tried the berries himself and found that he too had renewed energy. Word of coffee and its amazing powers traveled to the Arabian Peninsular and then to Turkey where the bean was roasted for the first time over open fires. It was eventually brought to Europe by Venetian traders. The first coffee house was opened in Venice around 1650, and the concept quickly spread throughout the continent.
Coffee Competition Raises Standards
With more people drinking coffee than ever before, consumer expectations have increased. The World Barista Championship (WBC) is just one way the industry is working to improve standards, from the use and combination of specialty beans through to the presentation of the drink itself.
“It’s a very difficult competition to win,” says James Hoffman, the United Kingdom’s top barista (professional espresso maker) and WBC 2007’s Grand Finalist. “Often those who do take top honors have put many months, if not years, into their performance, coffee and preparation. My goal for the competition was make it into the top six as no one from the UK had ever made it into the Grand Final before.” The UK has long been a country of tea drinkers, making Hoffman’s win even more noteworthy.
It is clear that coffee is here to stay, and has become an almost indispensable part of today’s busy lifestyle. It is also clear that it will take more than strong branding and marketing for global coffee chains to override local coffee-drinking customs completely.
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