The Global Coffee Culture

Coffee is a large industry globally; The International Coffee Organization says that globally consumption of coffee has increased by almost 42% in the last one hundred years. There are many different options for getting your cup of coffee in the morning, but it’s not the type of coffee that has variety but also how it is consumed “Historically, coffee sales remained strong even after the 2008 recession, when economists predicted that retail profits would plummet” (National Coffee). Italy is considered the epitome of coffee culture, with its numerous independently owned cafes and deeply rooted traditions that go back centuries. But America is the country that globalized a new kind of coffee culture using coffee chains like Starbucks. As far as consumption goes Italians drink 5.8kg per year and Americans drink 4.5 kg per year of coffee (International Coffee Organization) making them both on relatively equal ground in terms of consumption.

Italians will often spend several hours at a table talking with friends and family before dinner starts in the late evening. Going out to coffee is about socializing with others while slowly drinking. One reason behind this is the price of coffee at a table. In Italy it cost more to sit down at a table, so if you pay more to sit down plan to enjoy your time at the table with family and friends, socialize for several hours. An espresso at the counter at Caffè San Silvestro costs $1 but it goes up when you sit down at a table with your coffee (TIME). In the United States it is not uncommon to see a student working on papers or projects at Starbucks for three hours or more. “Here [in Italy] we study at home or at the library…But in Germany we’d sometimes meet to study in a Starbucks.” says Di Biase, an Italian that spent several years in Germany experiencing the American style of coffee that is served