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America Turned Coffee Into a Status Symbol. Europe Keeps It Accessible.
Why the cost of your daily cup says more about your country than your bank account
My wife and I spent the last month mostly on the road.
Two weeks in San Francisco. A few days back home in Valencia, Spain. Then, ten days in Paris and Amsterdam.
While I observed many differences on the way cultures do hospitality — particularly on price and presentation — how they do coffee might say the most.
At least, little things like coffee help explain the larger, more difficult dynamics to articulate in a five-minute read. Not where the coffee we drink comes from, what it tastes like, or even how it’s prepared. What matters most is price and the physical and social environments in which we drink it.
Because cost determines accessibility. And atmosphere dictates experience and, subsequently, the aforementioned culture.
I got into bartending because I have always had a thing for hospitality. When I worked behind and ran a bar I tried my best to respect the idea that going out to eat and drink isn’t about routine; it’s about having an experience around and among others that’s better than the experience you could have had alone.
