Understanding The Caf? Lifestyle Worldwide
One of the best ways that travelers get acquainted with the local customs is by stopping into a cafe--any cafe, really--and sitting down for a coffee. It could be early in the morning, right as shops and markets are starting to open. It could be during a slow afternoon stretch where businessmen are having power lunches and ladies of leisure are gossiping. Or it could be late in the evening, when in a surprising number of countries, going out for coffee is a suitable alternative to boozing it up, or a great activity to sober you up at the end of the night.
You see, the caf? lifestyle is more than just a reflection on how the locals like their coffee (one sugar, two sugars, milk, no sugar). It lets you know how people value their time, how a day actually moves, and whether or not you're going to find yourself waiting a long time for your friends to show up. In places like Western Europe, it's literally possible to sit as long as you like, sipping on a cappuccino, watching the action of the city go by. In Italy, if you meet a friend for coffee and don't stay for a couple of hours, they're going to think something is terribly wrong. After all, where could you possibly have to rush off to?
A number of countries are rather relaxed, but others even elevate their culture from simply enjoyable to intellectually important. Over by the university on the left bank of Paris, a number of tourists flock to the cafes where Sarte and other existentialists wrote some of the most important books of the 20th century. In a city like Paris, the caf? lifestyle is about something more than just leisure. It's about valuing the time to think and create on your own, but also thinking that is an exchange that can happen out in public.
A couple of cities in The United States are a better look at what could have been, or rather, what was before Starbucks made carry-out to-go coffee the thing that everyone needed and wanted. At a couple of regal cafes in New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, you'll get laughed out the door if you try to order a "tall" anything. Families who came to the States managed to order large machines from the old country that make seriously great drinks, so it's possible to sit for awhile and enjoy a decent coffee and a sandwich with the other people in the neighborhood who value such things.
The concept of snacks coming with a coffee isn't just something that happens in the Northern Hemisphere. Down south in Argentina, a country of immigrants, cafe culture is also alive and bustling. But in Argentina, especially in the capital city of Buenos Aires, it's about more than just sitting down and having an Italian-style coffee. There's usually a small glass of soda water, three or four cookies, and even in some bars, some chips or a small sandwich. It's a pretty great deal, and no wonder that it seems that from the hours of two until eight in the evening, cafes all over the city are packed with everyone from young soccer fans to elderly couples hanging out and enjoying their coffee and snacks.
It says a lot about a country when snacks come with your coffee. Because if someone's serving you enough food to nibble on for a couple of hours, they are not trying to throw you out. They're saying to stay, to sit awhile, to just relax. And that's an incredible and welcome change if you're used to a society of to-go and delivery. People genuinely do seem more relaxed places where the caf? lifestyle allows for leisure time. Everyone, from businessmen to aspiring young writers and artists, takes the time to sit down and have conversations or enjoy some private time. There's no societal penalty, it's just a legitimately nice time.
Perhaps some of that culture will rub off the places that it doesn't exist already. Starbucks, after all, has made it acceptable to want something with espresso, and maybe the slow food movement in The States will carry over to beverages in public. A number of bloggers and internet fiends are making it slightly more acceptable to sit in a public place and still be a responsible adult, so long as there's a computer in front of you and you look busy.
If you're traveling for business, visiting a different city for a little while, or relocating abroad, the best possible thing to do is to head to a popular local coffee spot. In just an afternoon, you'll learn more about a country by watching its citizens drink coffee and talk than you would from a whole stack of Lonely Planet guidebooks. - 17274
You see, the caf? lifestyle is more than just a reflection on how the locals like their coffee (one sugar, two sugars, milk, no sugar). It lets you know how people value their time, how a day actually moves, and whether or not you're going to find yourself waiting a long time for your friends to show up. In places like Western Europe, it's literally possible to sit as long as you like, sipping on a cappuccino, watching the action of the city go by. In Italy, if you meet a friend for coffee and don't stay for a couple of hours, they're going to think something is terribly wrong. After all, where could you possibly have to rush off to?
A number of countries are rather relaxed, but others even elevate their culture from simply enjoyable to intellectually important. Over by the university on the left bank of Paris, a number of tourists flock to the cafes where Sarte and other existentialists wrote some of the most important books of the 20th century. In a city like Paris, the caf? lifestyle is about something more than just leisure. It's about valuing the time to think and create on your own, but also thinking that is an exchange that can happen out in public.
A couple of cities in The United States are a better look at what could have been, or rather, what was before Starbucks made carry-out to-go coffee the thing that everyone needed and wanted. At a couple of regal cafes in New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, you'll get laughed out the door if you try to order a "tall" anything. Families who came to the States managed to order large machines from the old country that make seriously great drinks, so it's possible to sit for awhile and enjoy a decent coffee and a sandwich with the other people in the neighborhood who value such things.
The concept of snacks coming with a coffee isn't just something that happens in the Northern Hemisphere. Down south in Argentina, a country of immigrants, cafe culture is also alive and bustling. But in Argentina, especially in the capital city of Buenos Aires, it's about more than just sitting down and having an Italian-style coffee. There's usually a small glass of soda water, three or four cookies, and even in some bars, some chips or a small sandwich. It's a pretty great deal, and no wonder that it seems that from the hours of two until eight in the evening, cafes all over the city are packed with everyone from young soccer fans to elderly couples hanging out and enjoying their coffee and snacks.
It says a lot about a country when snacks come with your coffee. Because if someone's serving you enough food to nibble on for a couple of hours, they are not trying to throw you out. They're saying to stay, to sit awhile, to just relax. And that's an incredible and welcome change if you're used to a society of to-go and delivery. People genuinely do seem more relaxed places where the caf? lifestyle allows for leisure time. Everyone, from businessmen to aspiring young writers and artists, takes the time to sit down and have conversations or enjoy some private time. There's no societal penalty, it's just a legitimately nice time.
Perhaps some of that culture will rub off the places that it doesn't exist already. Starbucks, after all, has made it acceptable to want something with espresso, and maybe the slow food movement in The States will carry over to beverages in public. A number of bloggers and internet fiends are making it slightly more acceptable to sit in a public place and still be a responsible adult, so long as there's a computer in front of you and you look busy.
If you're traveling for business, visiting a different city for a little while, or relocating abroad, the best possible thing to do is to head to a popular local coffee spot. In just an afternoon, you'll learn more about a country by watching its citizens drink coffee and talk than you would from a whole stack of Lonely Planet guidebooks. - 17274
About the Author:
Damian Papworth loves coffee. As such he launched the One Cup Coffee Makers website. On this site you can read up on your 1 cup coffee maker
posted by X - Men at
2:58 PM
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