Coffee Culture

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source: http://www.apamperedlife.com.au/stories/coffee-culture/

Coffee Culture

Posted by A Pampered Life in Entertainment, Love & Dating, Stories on January 6, 2010

It doesn’t matter if you order a double shot skinny chai with sweetener or just your regular flat white, the coffee shop is the new vogue in social hangouts – and everyone is invited, says Verity Gray
Like any trend that grows and takes hold, the origins of the Australian coffee culture are quite intriguing. It began when migrant Italians rocked the tea-sipping Aussie establishment with the espresso boom in the 1960s. A penchant for quality and the emergence of both coffee machines and coffee masters – baristas – saw hundred of coffee shops pop up offering an aromatic journey, not just a buzz and a bitter taste.
Conservative Australians thought many of those early shops were dens of iniquity, but the appeal of the coffee gradually widened until, 40-odd years later, it has been estimated by economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel that by the end of 2009 we will each have drunk 2.5kg of coffee!
Given coffee’s popularity, it may be surprising that Starbucks, one of the best- known chain coffee stores, floundered in the Australian coffee market. Last year alone, 61 shops were closed with the loss of almost 700 jobs. However, the failure of Starbucks cannot be attributed to bad coffee but to its failure to properly understand their target audience.
The US company admits it struggled with Australia’s already established and ‘very sophisticated’ coffee culture. Aussie coffee consumers have high standards and simply didn’t like what has been called the ‘syrup and milk-based operations of Starbucks’. These days, seeing coffee as a mere beverage is merely scraping the foam, as the coffee shop has become a forum of social interaction tailored to the pace and style of modern Australian life.
The social hub
True to the Australian ethos of a society defined by the notions of fair go, mateship and equality, the coffee shop does not exclude or discriminate. Likewise, it’s not important what you’re drinking; the coffee culture is about social interaction in a setting that’s perfectly tailored to the time-poor, fast-paced existence most modern Australians lead.
People from every class, profession and gender use coffee shops. On a typical day, coffee shops welcome everyone from soccer mums spilling gossip over the latest Housewives episode to professionals spilling spreadsheets and ordering sneaky strawberry milkshakes.
Likewise, the amount of time spent there is totally flexible. From personal experience as a student, it was just as acceptable for me to skull a frappe at my local DOME café between lectures as it was to spend a couple of hours sifting through notes and enjoying the ambiance of a laidback setting. Modern coffee shops offer the perfect blend of functionality, business and comfort. It really is as versatile as each individual, group and their requirements.
Coffee and the dating girl
The coffee shop is also making meeting people so much easier. Traditional dinner dates are on the way out as the relaxed atmosphere of the café appeals to singletons worldwide. Inviting someone out for coffee is informal and ambiguous enough to allow individuals to test the waters without diving right in, straining a work relationship or risking heartache or embarrassment at the possible rejection of dates with more obvious romantic motives.
While coffee dates can quickly and quite effortlessly be elongated into multiple orders coupled with cakes, biscuits and chocolates, patrons are totally in control of the interaction. For as easy as it is to allow the date to blossom into more, you could also just have the one cup and bail, being grateful that you had given that curious crush a chance without having to endure the obligatory hours of a dinner date even if said crush turned out to be more boring than a plank of wood!
As multinational companies and chain coffee stores have done, underestimating the importance of your local coffee hangout the next time you take a number and sink back into a booth would be all too easy, because they have become such a given, unnoticed and uncontemplated aspect of Australian life.
Yet let’s not take it for granted – because if we do, then we also run the risk out of going out of the business of social interaction in the modern world.

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**Vocabulary**

vogue - The prevailing fashion or style at a particular time
hangout - A place one frequently visits
intrigue - Arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate
penchant - A strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something
baristas - coffee masters
dens of iniquity - A place where people meet in secret, typically to engage in some illicit activity
flounder - Be in serious difficulty
ethos - The characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations
soccer mums - The phrase soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to their sporting events or other activities
spilling - The action of spreading out in the manner of a fluid
skull - Hit (someone) on the head
frappe - A drink served with ice or frozen
sift - Examine (something) thoroughly so as to isolate that which is most important or useful
ambiance - atmosphere
singleton - A single person
patron - a regular customer
bail - Abandon a commitment
crush - A brief but intense infatuation for someone