Coffee and Cafe Culture

History itself is a cultural phenomenon, and the deposition of human culture is the product of human long-term history and social practice, which is both spiritual and material. Therefore, when we mention the term "culture", it represents that rhyme is not only a common concept in the academic and ideological field, but also a daily term in social life. Everything created by human beings can be regarded as the content of culture, and it involves the sum total of the ways and achievements of the whole human activities. Therefore, when coffee and cafe become a kind of culture in the process of historical development, it has a close relationship with human community organization, people's daily life, as well as the psychological consciousness of the group and the way of social communication. and under the impetus of the trend of the times, it has a close relationship with the modern western civilization.

Since the middle of the 16th century, when coffee drinking was widespread in the Arab world, it also opened up the Western world's curiosity about the beverage and its ingredients. After more than a century of exploration, contact, introduction and debate about this mysterious brown bean and liquid, the rise of coffee trend and the emergence of cafes in the 18th century is a leading presentation of fashion and taste of life for Western civilization. at the same time, it also represents the formation of the rational public domain, and then developed into a unique coffee and cafe culture in the torrent of history.

Since the 18th century, it is an important moment in modern western history. The cafe has never been absent. From autocracy to republic, from enlightenment to romance, from realism to impressionism, cafes provide every incoming customer with a space full of coffee aroma to practice their ideals, construct their philosophy and squander their talents. However, the concept and form of cafes will vary according to the changes of the times, the areas in which they are located, and the nature of civil society. Generally speaking, what was brewed in the western cafes in the 18th century was an elite culture led by intellectuals and aristocratic gentry, representing the taste of life in the upper class; however, with the influence of the trend of the times and historical evolution, the vigorous development of civil society in the 19th century caused a "popular" impact on coffee culture. Coffee cultivation in the New World has brought opportunities for the supply of affordable coffee, and the rise of bourgeois and the expansion of cities have made the forms and features of cafes more diverse, and at the same time, after 200 years of history, cafes have obtained exquisite, gorgeous, and colorful cultural aspects, which are intertwined by the rationality and emotion of human civilization.

The cafe is not only a place to serve coffee, but also a place to express personal thoughts, free speech, culture and entertainment. So no matter how the form of the coffee shop changes, it always plays an important role in all human civilizations, from "I'm not in the coffee shop, I'm on the way to the coffee shop" in Vienna to "I'll see you at the coffee shop" in Paris. Such a distinct social style reflects the unique atmosphere created by the coffee shop, where people can not only talk about the weather, current events, business and politics. At the same time, he also talked about music, literature, drama and life. Such a way of life immersed in the aroma of coffee reflects people's attitude towards life and philosophy of doing things: it can be passionate and leisurely, or it can be sensitive to life and meditation on life. at the same time, it is also the throbbing of communication with people or narcissistic loneliness.

For many people, drinking coffee is a feeling, drinking coffee in a coffee shop is a recognition of life, what kind of coffee one likes to drink and what kind of coffee to go to. It represents the person's attitude towards himself and his way of life. To me, coffee is as natural as sunshine, air and water, so marginal but necessary, while drinking coffee in a cafe is a necessity of daily life. Many of the good things in life are done in cafes. I meditate alone in the cafe, read and write in the cafe, share the truth of life and debate with people with friends in the cafe, experience the atmosphere of a strange city and the style of a foreign culture in the cafe, feel the rhythm of everyone in the same space and the stories that may be hidden behind it, through cups of hot coffee and the warm strength and courage it brings.

Preface to Coffee Spirit: the Cultural memory of Coffee and Cafe