Coffee
by Jennifer Pinner Is it absurd of me to believe that the nation’s obsession with coffee is somewhat disturbing?
Gone are the days when we asked for milk and two sugars, with the rapidly increasing chain of overpriced coffee shops emerging on every street corner, the coffee culture, popularised by the ‘Friends’ evolution, has created a thirst for luxury coffee. The once unrivalled status of the traditional cream tea and scone is finally in decline as coffee is transforming a quick tea break in to an ostentatious leisure pursuit for caffeinated snobs.
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As the fruition of Friends escalated,
the nation’s enthusiasm for gourmet
coffee has soured and more and more
overseas coffee chains are being
introduced in to the UK |
I rang a friend yesterday to meet for coffee -a simple idea at the outset but what evolved was a drawn-out saga that was completely unnecessary: I only asked which coffee shop we should meet at. ‘The coffee is bland in that shop’ and ‘oh they don’t make lattes with my type of milk there!’- excusez moi but am I actually hearing these preposterous comments escape from my friend’s mouth. She now has her own brand of milk? I shook my head at this laughable state of affairs but it made me cogitate - are we becoming a nation of toffee-nosed coffee consumers?
We stood in a hugely long queue in Starbucks as people in front of us relayed lengthy monologues of their coffee requirements - all of which were completely alien to me.
As we approached the ‘barista’ (coffee vendor - translated for the non-connoisseur) I had a de-ja-vu that I had returned to the streets of New York when an overly friendly American girl gave me the ‘have a nice day’ smile and eagerly asked me with anticipation what my coffee was for today.
What is my coffee? – I was hoping it would be black and strong.
But she had a completely different notion.
I replied nonchalantly ‘just a regular coffee please.’ At this moment she, and the rest of the caffeine junkies, looked at me with horror.
I must admit, I, the traditionalist, felt somewhat dull.
I was then bombarded with an infinite series of questions:
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As ashamed as I was for following
suit and basking in Starbucks
yesterday, this morning I felt an
unhealthy need to return there for
a coffee |
Would I not like hazelnut syrup in that?
Can I tempt you with our extra shot espresso caramel macchiato?
Tall, Grande or Venti?
My god, it was only 10:00 am - I would be on a sugar high for the rest of the day.
As I paid a costly price for my cup of, perhaps mundane, coffee and awaited with baited breath to see whether it was as good as everyone raved about, my friend completely shocked me by launching into an impressive enumeration of the drink she desired. I never realised that a ‘wet grande, skinny decaf, no sugar, vanilla latte with extra foam’ could be a plausible drink - I felt exhausted just listening to her cite such a bizarre request.
I admit, I couldn’t refrain from expressing amusement at this point but my friend, and the people behind us, looked equally displeased with my mockery.
This ritual was commonplace for them. To me this was sheer entertainment - ordinary people becoming so pedantic and specific over their preferred style of coffee.
Then a moment of reflection took hold of me - maybe I was the odd one out?
Everyone these days seems to have a particular coffee tailored to their liking. Did the fact that I had no caffeinated signature drink to my name mean I was not eligible for membership of the designer coffee set? Perhaps it is now reasonable to presume that in today’s society we are all categorised by the coffee we choose to drink and, in fact, it defines who we are as people?
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See Also:
Bach And Bush Flowers
Health_MOT
PMS
Mentally Disabled Children
The Elixir Of Life
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