1 post tagged “coffee”

Ever been in Starbucks during one rush hour? If you have, you know the picture: the line goes out the door and around the corner, and the cashier calls out orders to baristas who frantically run back and forth, trying to  fill them.

Americans have discovered designer coffee, albeit years behind the rest of the world. What Americans haven't seemed to discover is the act of sitting in a coffee shop with someone and enjoying coffee and conversation. They come on weekends; venture to your nearest mall on a Saturday afternoon and find a bookstore. Then head for the cafe and you'll see swarms of them. But this is not the phenomenon to which I refer - this is almost an afterthought, abbreviated at the end of the standard weekend mall trip - which comes for lack of anything more creative to do. As an ex-barista, I've seen it many times.

What I'm referring to is the act of meeting a friend (or friends) at any old time at a coffee shop, sitting down, ordering a cup of some form of coffee and then staying there for hours. Entertainment need not be hyperactive; sometimes low-key is the way to go. It seems that most Starbucks branches have many stands selling coffee beans, syrups, coffee makers and other goodies, but very little seating. Starbucks expects their customers to buy their coffee, and leave.

This is unique to the American coffee experience. In Europe and in the Middle East, where the coffee culture took root far before the United States tuned in, coffee shops are about seating and relaxation and leisure. Having grown up in the United States, worked in a Starbucks-affiliated cafe for a year, and moved to Tel Aviv 14 months ago, the difference strikes me as particularly dramatic. I was accustomed to seeing hurried customers coming into my Barnes & Noble cafe (B&N cafes use Starbucks products, although most are not actual Starbucks chains), short on patience, and often horribly rude to me and to my friends.

In Tel Aviv, however, coffee shops are about slowly sipping your drink, sitting and relaxing, chatting with friends or perhaps random people with which you strike up a conversation. Never have I seen hurried and panicking customers, and never have I seen any instance of impoliteness to baristas or cashiers.

I suppose that my point is that the next time you get restless and you have a few hours, call up a friend and find your neighborhood coffee shop (and it doesn't have to be Starbucks - usually the independent stores are far superior), try a drink you've never had before, and enjoy yourself. There's something to be said for what I referred to earlier as "designer coffee" - it allows for much experimentation, mixing different flavors and blends and finding new combinations that you may even be able to try at home.

So give it a shot. I promise.