nuts4chic - the online women's lifestyle magazine

Jennifer Pinner

Coffee

I confess I was growing a liking to this
new found ambience of the coffee shop

Anyhow, as we sat chatting I sipped my steaming hot coffee, which I confess, was quite palatable, and, feeling like an extra from Friends as we relaxed on a comfy sofa with overly sized coffee mugs, I gazed around the coffee house. I was intrigued by what I saw - people of all ages interacted as they reclined on the gigantic sofas that adorned the entire area. Teenagers competed with one another to see who had the larger collection of songs on their I pod; a couple relaxed on a sofa and were engaging in a kiss as if the rest of the world were absent; two women were curled up on single sofas and seemed so content as they caught up on all the recent gossip and a businessman studiously worked on his laptop computer. These people all shared one love– coffee - this made me ponder.

As dissimilar as some individuals are to one another, there are some things which, in my opinion, make us unite with a common bond and caffeine is one of them. These people cradled their mugs of coffee as if it were their saviour for the day- this was quite a comforting thought. Contentment ensued for these people as they consumed the sweet foamy coffee.

In the sitcom Friends we watched Joey, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler and Ross all relax in Central Perk as if it was their own living room. I am aware it’s only a show but, I admit, they did seem to spend a little too much of their day sitting on that sofa- imagine how empty their purses must have been with the amount of money they exhausted there. But there was one apparent reason why they were relentlessly jovial and positive throughout the decade that they graced our screens- the answer- the excessive volume of caffeine they consumed!

But vis-a-vis- they were happy and, for a decade, they became our ‘friends’- we watched them drink coffee but unconsciously followed suit and drank our own skinny latte’s as we curled up on our sofa and viewed our favourite episode. Would it be outlandish to suggest that Friends has made coffee fashionable?

Now I am the coffee-nosed
addict sitting on the tube sipping
her coffee

I must acknowledge, 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. People visit these coffee shops to consume these exotic coffees and socialise with their friends- it is even estimated that Britain consumes 500g of coffee per person per year, with one third consumed on the move.

Tea is falling in to decline as people opt for more cappuccinos and lattes and even home espresso makers are in great demand. Unsurprisingly, last year, British consumers spent more than ?730 million on caffeinated drinks.

I confess I was growing a liking to this new found ambience of the coffee shop. Then it struck me: to look at these people one would assume they were relaxing in their own home and not in a public arena - the preconceived intention that these popular coffee chains had longed to accomplish had actually arrived. So, could it be that these coffee junkies had fallen victim to their own desire to ‘chill-out’ fuelled by the coffee chains exploiting the ‘chill-out’ phenomenon. I also wager as many chocolate frappacchino’s as you can drink, that this relaxation and social intercourse is created so we subsequently order more coffee - even I was falling into the trap.

The longer we stayed there the more relaxed I felt but this laissez-faire attitude disappeared abruptly when the worst happened - my friend asked if I would like another drink! She had just been ensnared by the Starbucks ruse.

As I said goodbye to my friend I couldn’t help noticing the vast amount of people who rushed passed me in the chaotic realm of their life adorned with a paper coffee cup in their hands - even on the tube train a woman sat gulping hers. The aroma of coffee was set to haunt me.

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 and before I knew what had possessed me I had popped into my local branch and asked for a ‘skinny decaf vanilla latte’! It may not be the long barrage that my friend previously proclaimed, and yes, I did feel shamefaced that I was succumbing to this modern money spinning institution but, for one day, I wanted to be like the majority. Now I am the coffee-nosed addict sitting on the tube sipping her coffee and, like the rest of the nation, had been caught by the caffeine bug. Tea may you R.I.P.

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