What is the first thing (besides coffee) that comes to your mind when you think of a coffee shop? Is it a smell? A sound? Is it a certain person? Are you recalling a specific social experience?

For me, I hear murmuring and hissing espresso machines and forks clattering, I smell freshly brewed espresso and hot pastries, and I picture my husband sitting quietly in front of me, researching something on his phone.

For as long as they’ve existed, coffee houses have represented equality and social reformation.

(“Equality” being defined in reference to specific points in time.)

What do I mean? Having coffee and going to coffee shops is, and has always been, a social experience. Jessica Pearce Rotondi on History.com says it best:

Penny Universities – The Coffee Shop’s Humble Beginnings

Since the 1650s, the world has known coffee to be one of the most popular reasons to gather. I’m not sure how Turkish coffee tasted in the 17th century, but probably nothing close to how we enjoy our cappuccinos today. It wasn’t the taste that got groups of people together, but the opportunity to sit beside and converse with someone of a different status.

The term “Penny University” was inspired by the gathering of intellects in the first coffee houses in England. Parallelling to today’s college-student-sardine-can that most coffee shops have become, the tables in these first coffee shops were often covered in newspapers and other writings for the men to ponder over and share with each other. A cup of coffee cost them a penny, but all patrons had the opportunity to be exposed to a wealth of knowledge once inside.

Can you imagine the different kinds of people mingling at that time? Poets and criminals? Politicians and scientists? And groups of people of similar backgrounds would claim one coffee house or another once they found their niche.

To say the least, many enlightening conversations were had at these coffee houses.

Coffee Shops – Chains & Local

CHAINS

Our social experience has reformed rapidly over the past couple of decades. Starbucks, for example, has become a place for people to come alone to work remotely, meet someone for the first time, stop while traveling, or catch up with an old friend.

Though these chain cafés have regular local patrons, this kind of atmosphere allows us as a community to have a safe space to open ourselves to something new. Their menus are predictable, each one has a familiar atmosphere, and it is less personal than going into someone’s home or somewhere more secluded.

Coffee has stayed a relaxing sort of drink, though still drunk for its stimulating qualities. Having a mug of liquid comfort helps when getting to know new people or going solo to a café.

LOCAL

Local coffee crafters have the hipster social experience down to a science. Not only have they perfected this stigma with beanies and mustaches, but they have also perfected their brewing game. Local shops are the best places to find quality drinks.

They are also the places that retain their regular customers. The baristas become the patrons’ friends. Friends meet other friends there weekly and introduce them to their favorite baristas. Customers will come back to see what seasonal items these local coffee geniuses have invented. Inside, you will find a social experience like no other, and they are possibly my favorite places to sip on a latte. (Other than being home!)

My favorite coffee shops have tabletop games, pool tables (like the photo above), different kinds of chairs and tables, plants hanging in the windows, and local art enlivening the walls.

At Home

Coffee has also remade itself in the homes of consumers. Not only can we enjoy a latte in our favorite café, but we can make them at home, too. Hosting a family gathering, having our morning coffee, or setting special time aside to give one friend our undivided attention can all happen over coffee. At my house, it always happens over coffee.

My favorite moments are on those days when I wake before sunrise and sip my [first] cup of coffee as the sun’s glow hides behind the horizon. Mornings are still, filled with peace and light birdsong, with the occasional obnoxious train whistle. Introverts, like myself, recharge in solitude. I find the truest alignment I have within myself when I take time to sip my coffee in the early morning and breathe–alone. So, I suppose this is…lack of social experience. But it will help improve social encounters later on because this time is restorative!

When I have company, I always make a pot of Chemex-brewed coffee. My guests deserve the best-tasting joe I have to offer. Camaraderie is founded here–over this steaming pour-over. These intimate moments of sympathy or inspiration or celebration, even if you’re having a large gathering for a holiday, are made unique and special by the care with which coffee is served and brewed.

What kind of vessel do you choose to serve in? Teacups? Heavy mugs? Do the cups match? Are they all different? Do you have to-go cups with lids for your aunt who laughs too much and spills it down her dress every Easter?

All Over a Cup of Coffee

In whatever circumstances you are drinking coffee, most of the time you are experiencing a connection with someone else.

With each new coffee discovery, our social experiences within the industry change as well. With all of the health-conscious changes we’ve made since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our social experiences have changed drastically! Remember Dalgona coffee on TikTok while many countries were on lockdown? How did that bring us together as a planet, even virtually?

Coffee is available at weddings, funerals, and restaurants for an after-dinner treat with dessert. Short, whistful conversations juxtaposed by very deep and lengthy conversations can be had simultaneously in the same coffee house. Agreeing to grab a coffee isn’t the same as committing to dinner on a first date, but sometimes a coffee date with your best friend can turn into a late night that should have been dinner.

So many different kinds of people frequent cafés. People that we would never meet anywhere else are addicted to caffeine, just like the rest of us. Coffee shops are big ol’, cast iron gumbo pots!

Whether celebrating, inspiring, mourning, or simply introducing yourself, coffee is the vessel that brings us together.

How many social situations have you been in this week over coffee?