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.
In fact, it’s easy to learn about a place by studying the caf? lifestyle. For example, if you’re in the United States, in most any city that’s not a New York or a San Francisco, you’re going to find that the way that most people do coffee is as fast as they possibly can. From driving through the window at the local Starbucks to a number of to-go options in malls and shopping centers, coffee isn’t so much an experience to be savored, but a substance to be consumed as quickly as possible. It seems that Starbucks has been responsible for introducing concepts like flavors and soy milk to suburban areas, though, and even Dunkin Donuts has had to step up their game and finally offer espresso.
That might be news to someone from The United States, who, outside of a few big cities, would never see such a thing except amongst unemployed teenagers. Coffee in the Unites States, if you’re not in a fancy restaurant, is more about getting caffeine in your body to go work a job. Most spots that are serving coffee aren’t serving anything that’s particularly good, and the extent to which the caf? lifestyle exists in most American cities amongst average people is the fact that you can now get something called espresso at a Dunkin Donuts in Boston.
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.
Probably the biggest difference from country to country is what comes with your beverage. In the States, there’s not going to be any free snacks coming with your cappuccino or latte, but elsewhere in the world, a cafe wouldn’t think of serving you just a coffee. You see, the caf? lifestyle in places like Buenos Aires, Argentina, will practically give you an afternoon snack. Order a coffee–any coffee–and not only will a nice Italian-style espresso-based beverage come out, it will be accompanied by a glass of sparking water, at least three packets of sugar, a couple of tasty cookies, and sometimes a variety of chips or crackers. Likewise, if you’re in Paris, it’s sometimes cheaper to just go with their special, which means that your coffee always comes with a croissant or cookies.
The thing about the snacks in these other countries where the caf? lifestyle is important is that it’s pretty much permission to stay as long as you want. There’s no one trying to turn the tables over fast in the afternoon, and every extra item that comes with that coffee buys you at least ten more minutes to sit, relax, and hang out.
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.
But wherever you are in the world, get to know a little bit more about the city you’re visiting by heading over to a well-worn looking spot. It might have waiters in bow ties, it might have beat-up looking wooden tables, but all that matters is it has a nice view of the street, and a few customers. You now have the best seat in the whole city to learning how things work. Just don’t rush off now, you hear?
Damian Papworth loves coffee. So he launched the One Cup Coffee Makers website. On this site you can read up on your 1 cup coffee maker You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.