That may be an exaggeration, but not by much. There are now at least 4,500 coffee-houses nationwide, and the Specialty Coffee Association of America predicts that that number will double in five years. (Even Mormons, who are forbidden to consume caffeine, have found a few coffeehouses in Provo, Utah, that slyly serve them cappuccinos in opaque 7Up cups.) The marketing of specialty toffees – bringing lattes, espressos and their haute-sounding cousins to the Maxwell House set – certainly helped establish the coffeehouse culture. But from Washington’s Soho to the Star-bucks that have claimed a corner in every city nationwide, what’s goosed coffee’s popularity as much as anything is the cross-generational appeal of the java joint, “People will sit in the coffeehouse and read and someone will make a comment, and pretty soon you’ve got a conversation,” says Thomas Wymer, who teaches English at Bowling Green University. “It’s not so pretentious anymore. The coffeehouse has turned into ‘Cheers’ without booze.”
Of course, the coffeehouse as social unit is not new. Italians probably started the first one in the 17th century, followed by the Viennese (who still flock to their rigidly stratified establishments) and the French (who are abandoning theirs in favor of their TV remote controls). Americans still want their MTV, too, but after a decade of cocooning and a silent night of cruising the Internet, they’ve begun to crave real conversation. “Fifty years ago you didn’t have the social situation to merit this,” says Marshall Fishwick, a humanities and communications professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. “The coffeehouse has always been a sort of refuge for people who are in need of companionship.” That describes Joseph Zuaiter perfectly. Zuaiter, a workaholic computer programmer in his late 20s, hits the nearest coffeehouse several times a day. “Sometimes I’ll finish a movie at 11:30 p.m. and go find a cup,” he says. “You don’t need coffee at midnight, but we still go. There’s no rush to go home. There’s nothing to do at home.”
The coffeehouse’s easygoing culture also makes public solitude feel comfortable. Most houses permit customers to sit alone for hours, forming a subtle etiquette that allows people to be with people without feeling obligated to interact with them, says Doug Peters, a 80-year-old waiter from St. Paul, Minn. Coffeehouses do have more than their share of patrons who plant their faces behind books, newspapers and lap-tops. But the low-stress vibe also makes a perfect spot for first dates, says Michael Fiorito, 20. “If it works you can go someplace else.” Coffeehouses are ideal, say businessmen, if you’re looking for a quiet, cozy place to have a meeting or make a contact. “Coffee-houses are still a wired thing,” says Mark Frauenfelder, associate editor of Wired, the San Francisco-based monthly cyber-hip magazine that regularly lists what’s in (wired) and what’s out (tired). “You go in coffeehouses around here and it’s hard not to find a couple of people working on laptops. They could be doing it at home or in their office, but there they are.”
That’s not to say that there’s a one stop cure for what Grant McCracken, a contemporary-culture anthropologist and the curator of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, calls “fin de siecle fatigue.” As successful as coffeehouses have been in luring a cross-section of society, they’re getting competition from niche shops tailored to specific audiences. Brain Wash in San Francisco offers live music, laundry machines and coin-operated computers to lure the young, unwashed masses. In Portland, Ore., there’s a mad rush to buy old Fotomats and convert them into drive-up cappuccino vendors. And sometimes there just isn’t enough caffeine anywhere to bridge the gap between the same color – and “laugh and walk away,” says co-owner Dan Lessard, 38. “We made it a little fun and eclectic, and for some people that’s not real familiar.”
It’s more than just funky decor that has built the growing coffeehouse culture. Now that all the old vices – smoking, sex, drinking before driving – have been deemed unsafe, coffee-houses provide one of the last unregulated drugs in America and the only one regularly taken with a wink and a muffin – caffeine. Ron Nordheimer, who operates Ferrara, one of many coffee shops and espressostands in a 10-block radius of the White House, says he does a feverish trade with office workers. “A lot of people love the jolt,” he says. “It gives them a feeling that they can work a couple more hours and not get drained.” The sight of so many professionals bellying up to Washington espresso bars moved a local public-relations executive to remark that “coffeehouses are middle-class crackhouses.” On campuses, some students are skipping the brewing and chewing the beans-coated in chocolate. “We started eating them to stay awake in lectures, and it worked,” says Lori Czyscon, a University of Minnesota horticulture major.
Is that safe? Science hasn’t even established the health impact of daily doses of mega mocha – and its megadose of caffeine-let alone chewing the beans straight. In Portland, Ore., some ex-coffee addicts have formed Caffeine Anonymous, a 12-step program for bean heads. Others, tired of the influence of coffee connoisseurs on the marketplace, grumble that they are sick of these high-calorie confections. An exasperated customer in Minneapolis recently cried out, “Does anyone know where I can get a damn cup of coffee?” Says Mark Vergilii, a 24-year-old insurance salesman standing at a coffee bar in Minneapolis: “It’s sad. Why aren’t all these people sitting at home drinking their coffee?” And miss out on the accordion player, the Internet hookup, the washing machines, the art exhibit and an unlimited supply of Swiss almond mochaccino? Forget it. Oh, and pass the cream, please.
From our lips to your hips – that’s no low-cal treat.
Black Coffee, 8 oz caffeine (mg) 175 calories 5 Espresso, 0.7 oz caffeine 74 calories 5 Cappuccino, 8 oz caffeine 74 calories[] 70 Cafe mocha, 8 oz caffeine 84 calories[] 180 Iced mocha, 8 oz caffeine 84 calories[*] 150 Mocha syrup, 1 oz caffeine 10 calories 40 Whipped cream, 19g calories 70
- INCLUDING WHOLE MILK. SOURCE: STARBUCKS
The cost of a primo cappuccino varies. If you think it’s a ripoff at, say, $2 a cup, you’re right – sort of. Overhead and labor are steep, but profit is still a hefty 14 percent. Brother, can you spare a dime?
$2 Cappuccino Cost Breakdown Overhead 40 cents Product 26 cents[8 cents espresso shot, 10 cents milk, 5 cents container, 3 cents sugar, cinnamon] Profit 28 cents Labor 66 cents Rent 40 cents
