The United States is the largest market for coffee by volume in the world. It makes us wonder, why is coffee so important to us as a nation? The significance of the drink has spiked in the last few decades and it is worth looking at what coffee means to us and our social cultures:
- Individuality – Anthropologist William Roseberry reported that coffee in the 70s was “light and bland.” Today however, you can customize your coffee to whatever fits your needs. Having an order that is inherent to you resonates with our cultural desire of self-expression. Think about the last time you were in line at a coffee shop and all the various coffee orders you overheard. Americano, white chocolate mocha, or decaf soy latte with an extra shot and cream. We all have our specific order that we prefer and rarely does a drink allow that degree of individuality.
- Coffee Shops – Just examining the functionality of coffee shops speaks volumes of our collective appreciation and value that we put on coffee. Long gone are the days of walking in, ordering a cup and leaving. We now meet people for coffee as the default standard for casually seeing with a person. Whether you are spending hours at a table with a laptop catching up on work, or meeting up with friends for an afternoon, coffee and the shops where we get it is the bonding element.
- Normalization – Roseberry’s study determined that due to a steep decline, merely 50% of the adult population drank coffee in 1988. In the recent years, we as a culture have normalized coffee. If your office break room had a smoothie machine you would be impressed but when you see a coffee maker in a break room, it is just a standard. We understand that coffee is a part of who we are and no longer an additional add on. It has become so ingrained into society that it is as common in the work place as a water cooler.
Your Local Coffee Distributor
Coffee is a crucial facet in our culture and extends far beyond paper cups and travel mugs. Hot or iced, coffee brings us together and is engrained to who we are. That’s why at Javatino we strive to providing you with nothing but the best coffee available. We have our own local roasting facility in Orlando and will provide you with the perfect blend. For more information, you can contact us at (407) 730-6625.