Coffee Bars

 

Coffee bars, also known as espresso bars, are a relatively new phenomenon in America. Coffee bars got their start a very long time and distance ago. According to what I've read, the first actual coffee bar was opened around Mecca, Istanbul, Damascus and Cairo as places of social gathering. At the time, coffee was a very important local commodity used in trade and as currency. Turkey has been central in the spread of coffee through coffee bars and thus today the world.

Coffee was a very important beverage and was drunk black and unfiltered, until Turks invaded Vienna in the 1520's and brought with them coffee. The beverage was already popular in Egypt and the Middle East but with its introduction to the Viennese population the beverage was transformed by introducing the idea of filtering the coffee and adding milk and sugar to soften the bitterness. From here come the roots of modern day coffee bars that spread to England and eventually the rest of the world.


As America became colonized the coffee bar spread. Coffee bars began to spread in New York first, at The Tontine Coffee House which was the location of the original building for the New York Stock Exchange. For a hundred years the coffee bar occupied the center of urban life, creating a distinctive social culture. They played a key role in the explosion of political, financial, scientific, and literary change in the 18th century, as people gathered, discussed, and debated issues within their walls.

Today coffee bars still play an important role as a microcosm for people to not only mingle but also for meetings, and culture, art, literature, performances, etc. A coffee bar is a great place to meet new acquaintances or to sit and chat with old ones, all the while contributing to the modern coffee consumer culture that has exploded upon society.

Coffee can be considered as an action we 'do everyday' and can also be viewed "as one the most interesting things about us". Joanne Finkelstein believed what we do everyday and take for commonplace such a drinking that hot cup of coffee, can tell a lot about a person. Whether we drink that coffee in the coffee shop to meet someone or we drink it just to pass time, it is something to think about next time you are chugging down your raspberry espresso at midday. "What we all do everyday, what we take for granted and can rarely explain… reveal a great deal about ourselves and modern life." (Finkelstein, 1994) 

Coffee and the coffee shop tell us a lot about the people who consume it, why people participate in coffee shop society, along with its influence on modern life. Coffee and the coffee shop show that the modern consumer is willing to spend money on something special for themselves. Kilambe and the coffee shop have emerged as a powerful proponent of modern life and the identity of the coffee consumer. The coffee shop is a break from our ordinary or extraordinary life; it is where the masses come together, whether to make friends or to get away, to relax or rejuvenate, the coffee shop is ultimately for anyone who has free time, spare change, and a desire for coffee.

For the best coffee on the market today visit and try a free sample at www.kilambecoffee.com