Coffee culture in six major coffee countries

Professional barista communication, please pay attention to coffee workshop (Weixin Official Accounts cafe_style )

French coffee culture

I heard that France once drank less coffee because of a shortage of coffee, and immediately saw more people napping. It may seem an exaggeration, but it is true that the French love coffee. When the "Gulf War" broke out in 1991, France was also one of the participating countries. Some people in China worried that the war would affect the supply of daily necessities and rushed to supermarkets to buy them. Even the TV station was alarmed. When the camera was aimed at customers full of "scarce goods," it was found that they took the most coffee and sugar. This became a big joke at the time.

French coffee does not seem to be about taste, but environment and mood, most do not want to close the door "drink alone," but to join in the fun outside, even if the price of a small cup is enough to cook a pot at home. They did not drink it in a hurry, but slowly tasted it, carefully tasted it, read books and newspapers, talked loudly, and drank for most of the day. French people develop this habit of drinking coffee, consciously or unconsciously expressing an elegant flavor, a romantic atmosphere, a sense of enjoyment of life. It can be said that this is a traditional coffee culture. Because of this, France can be said to have a coffee stop all over the streets, roadside, square, river bank, cruise ship, and even Eiffel Tower. And the form, style, size eclectic, there are coffee shops, restaurants, halls, rooms. And the most popular and romantic are the outdoor cafes, which are almost a portrayal of French life. No wonder tasteful Frenchmen have a tradition that it may be harder to change a café on the Seine than a religion! A real cafe, regulars not only never easily change their own cafe, even the time they come to the cafe and the habit of which coffee table they sit on are fixed. This loyalty, of course, is also reflected in the tireless hospitality of the host, who, without greeting him, brings his favorite coffee, accompanied by a plate of special snacks, and even brings his favorite newspaper, without saying thank you, which is taken for granted in an authentic cafe.

Italian coffee culture

There are two things to watch out for when visiting Italy: men and coffee. In Italy, coffee and men are actually two things, so Italy has a famous saying: men like good coffee, both strong and full of enthusiasm! Espresso Italian coffee, English name, in recent years in China has been widely known to coffee lovers, this strong and fragrant, floating a layer of golden foam on the surface of pure black coffee, thick and hot like hell escaped from the devil, often make people drink it into an indescribable charm, unforgettable. The characteristic of Italian coffee, expressed in its English name, is a fast word; make it no faster than ten seconds, drink it quickly, because there are only two or three sips. Most Italians brew a cup of coffee the first thing they do when they wake up. Men and women drink it almost from morning to night. Coffee shops called BAR can be seen everywhere on the street, selling a cup of coffee of about 400 lira, about NT$10, for people to drink it standing up.

Italians drink an average of 20 cups of coffee a day, and espresso beans are the deepest fried beans in the world, in order to match the special features of Italian coffee pots for instant coffee extraction. Since a cup of Italian coffee is only 50 cc, the amount of coffee beans is only six to eight grams enough, so this seemingly strong coffee, in fact, does not hurt the stomach at all, and even helps digestion! Italian coffee also has a drink method with milk, called Cappuccino, using Italian coffee pot steam above 130 degrees Celsius, first milk into foam, and then floating on the black coffee. Sweet fresh milk, pure white lovely; charming Espresso devil in its embellishment, immediately changed into a wonderful angel!

American coffee culture

Americans drink coffee like a game that doesn't need rules, with no taboos. Europeans brew coffee with all kinds of attention, Americans are dismissive. Americans drink coffee freely, and coffee also penetrates their lives so deeply that it is difficult to separate them, and the influence is so deep that they can not live without coffee. It is said that the Apollo XIII spacecraft, the first manned class to the moon, had a life-and-death failure on its way home. At that time, the ground staff comforted the three astronauts with one sentence: Come on! Hot coffee is waiting for you. Whether at home, in the office, in public, or at a roadside vending machine, Americans can't do without coffee almost 24 hours a day. This accounts for one-third of the world's coffee production and is the world's largest coffee consumer. Generally speaking, life in the United States is busier and more intense, unlike people in Europe and the Middle East who can enjoy life in a relaxed mood. This is manifested in drinking coffee, often a large pot of electric filter coffee. From morning to night, because there is more water and less coffee (a cup of 10 grams of coffee is 200 CC of water), the taste is particularly weak. Therefore, many people criticize American coffee as really bad to drink. In fact, coffee drinkers across the United States can still taste their favorite coffee flavor with a little effort. If pure American coffee is divided into two main types, the East Coast of the United States is stronger than the West Coast, and the South is stronger than the North. Ethnically speaking, southern European and Latino people prefer strong coffee more than British, German and northern European immigrants. In addition, although the United States is the largest exporter of instant coffee, there are not many people who drink instant coffee in the United States itself. As a result of their growing emphasis on healthy eating in recent years, there has been a growing market for caffeine-free coffee and a growing trend to drink coffee without sugar.

Turkish coffee culture

Coffee in the ancient Middle East, like a legendary myth in the Thousand and One Nights, is a veiled girl with a thousand faces, which can help to get close to God and wash away sadness. To speak of coffee, one cannot fail to mention Middle Eastern (Turkish) coffee, because whether from a Muslim or Christian standpoint, coffee originated in the remote and mysterious mountains of the Middle East. After three centuries of Muslim religious prohibition from the 13th to 15th centuries, coffee was officially introduced to Turkey in the 16th century, began to be commercialized, and quickly spread to continental Europe. This coffee drinking method, popular in Greece, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and other places, is commonly known as Turkish coffee or Arabic coffee, and still maintains the mystery of early religious ceremonies. The traditional Turkish coffee method is to use roasted hot fried black coffee beans ground into a fine powder, sugar and cold water together into a copper material like a deep spoon coffee pot (IBRIK), slow boiling over low heat, after repeated stirring and water process, about 20 minutes, a small cup of 50 cc fragrant and strong coffee is finished. Because locals drink coffee unfiltered, this cup of thick soup-like coffee poured into the cup has sticky foam on the surface and residue at the bottom. In the Middle East, an invitation to someone else's home for coffee represents the most sincere respect of the host, so guests should not only praise the aroma of coffee, but also remember not to drink water even if they drink a mouthful of dregs, because that implies that coffee is not good to drink. Arabs drink coffee slowly, they even have a set of exquisite coffee ceremony, just like the Chinese tea ceremony, coffee not only to burn incense, but also sprinkle spices, smell incense, a wide variety of coffee pots, but also full of Arabian Nights style. A cup of Middle Eastern coffee with cloves, cardamom and cinnamon fills the room when hot. No wonder Arabs praise it: Musky and soul-stirring.

Viennese coffee culture

Coffee is something Viennese people are proud of. Viennese even compare it with music and waltz, calling it "Vienna Three Treasures," which shows the love between Viennese and coffee. Some people say that Vienna is "five steps and one coffee," which may be a poet's exaggeration, but it is true that Vienna has a large number of cafes. From coffee booths on street corners for people to stand and drink, coffee shops near universities where students gather, to rich and luxurious coffee shops near theaters and imperial cities, there are at least dozens, some of which open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 2 a.m. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the air of "Music Capital" is not only flowing with the rhythm of music, but also filled with the fragrance of coffee.

Viennese coffee drinking dates back to the 17th century. At that time, in many Islamic countries, large and small cities, cafes abound, coffee has become an indispensable part of people's lives. But in Europe, people didn't know what it was. In 1683, the Turks attacked Vienna for the second time. At that time, Austrian Emperor Obod I signed a military alliance with Polish King Augustus II. The Austrian and Polish allied forces crushed the Turkish attack. The fleeing Turkish army abandoned large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and hundreds of large bags containing mysterious brown beans on the battlefield around Vienna's walls, which the victorious Viennese did not know what to do with. As it happened, a Polish spy who had infiltrated the Turkish army, Korshizki, had tasted in Constantinople the strong black drink brewed from this roasted bean, which the Turks called "Kahve," or coffee. As a reward, the Pole received all the coffee captured on the battlefield and opened Vienna's first café. Even today, there are still many cafes that claim to be the first Polish cafe to attract customers. But in the beginning, coffee shop business is not good, Viennese still prefer tea. Later, the businessman changed the recipe and added milk to his coffee, which worked surprisingly well and became popular in the 1680s. They call it "Melange." Even today, coffee is still Vienna's most popular drink, despite its variety.

Coffee drinking has become a part of life in Vienna, and for the price of a cup of coffee one can meet friends in a cafe, play chess, read books, write books, read newspapers (usually newspapers from many countries), or watch television in an obscure corner in a laid-back atmosphere. Some coffee shops have their own type of clientele-countries, writers, or politicians; most coffee shops have a diverse clientele. Vienna's most famous café is the Central Cafe, located in the city centre. Before World War I, it was a gathering place for famous poets, playwrights, artists, musicians and diplomats. Some people say that it is the cradle of many Austrian poems, plays and novels, which may be exaggerated, but Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss and his son, the "Waltz Dynasty," are all frequent visitors here. Today, the Central Cafe is thriving, but no matter how crowded it is, guests can stay as long as they want, a century-old tradition of Viennese cafes. There are also many famous cafes in Vienna, which are always closely related to some famous people in the past or present. Viennese like to tell visitors which cafés artists and writers meet frequently and which cafés politicians meet journalists. Viennese coffee comes in many varieties, from black coffee to coffee with milk in various colors, each with its own characteristics, suitable for different tastes, and each with its own name. So, walking into a Viennese cafe and simply asking for a cup of coffee can overwhelm the waiter, because there are at least 40 varieties of coffee. If you don't know much about coffee and want to experience the unique atmosphere of Viennese cafes, order the "Melange" mentioned earlier, this strong coffee is completely Viennese and has a long aftertaste. Whichever coffee you order, you get a glass of water at the same time-for no reason other than that the water in Vienna is particularly cool and delicious. But if the waiter brings the guest a second glass of water, it means "you've been here too long."

Viennese have a sweet tooth, and they often like to order a cup of coffee with a nice dessert. Vienna has a lot of desserts, but for coffee people like the Gugelhupf, a hollow omelet typical of Vienna. The availability of newspapers, pictorials and magazines for readers to read is a cultural feature of Vienna cafes, which also has historical roots. It is said that before coffee was widely accepted, many cafes in Vienna had to offer free newspapers to attract customers, because newspapers were expensive at that time, and a newspaper cost twice as much as a cup of coffee. Of course, this entertaining role of the newspaper no longer exists today, but it has survived and constitutes the cultural taste of the Viennese café.

Coffee culture in Japan

Coffee was first introduced to Japan during the Genroku period in Nagasaki. And people officially accepted it from the Meiji era. Let's take a look at the history of coffee in Japan!

At first, the Japanese were not used to the aroma of coffee houses in Western Europe. At the time when coffee culture literature and art were in full bloom, Japan was in the midst of the strict policy of isolation in the Edo period. The first beverage coffee was established at the Dutch merchant house in Dejima, Nagasaki (1641), presumably brought in at that time. However, those who can come into contact with foreigners are servants (officials), businessmen, interpreters and tourists. In 1776, Zumberu's Chronicles of Japan (I) finally knew the delicacy of coffee. Coffee, a symbol of foreign culture that was specially transmitted to the island, could not be popularized at that time.

The Japanese drank coffee in 1804. The author of the crazy singer drama, Shushan people in Daejeon, was invited to drink something called "coffee" on the red hair ship. The beans were fried black and powdery. After mixing with white sugar, they drank it. The smell of burnt bitterness and bitterness could not be adapted. "Judging from the background that coffee is imported from the island and cannot be widely accepted, the policy of locking up the country does affect the Japanese people's unaccustomed taste of new drinks.

In 1823, he went to the Dutch residence in Dejima, Japan, and seemed to like coffee. In the book "Edo Sanfu Notes," it is recorded that "the Japanese like to drink coffee when they get along with us."

The real popularity began in the middle of Meiji. Members of the magazine "Aki" Kitahara Shiraaki, Ishikawa Takaki, Takamura Kotaro, Sato Haruo, Nagai Karikaze, etc. use the "Hongno Nest" site in Nihonbashi Onet Town as their monthly meeting place. In that shop you can drink authentic French cuisine and wine, coffee is authentic French style deep roast coffee. Hong's nest is like a social arena for literati.

From the Meiji era to the Taisho era, cultural salons like this did help create several coffee houses, and Japan finally entered the coffee culture. However, it was still a rare shop for ordinary people.

Coffee salons formed at that time were social places for literati or literary youth, but at the same time, cheap coffee houses were unconsciously popular. At the height of the Taisho era, there were more than 20 branches nationwide. Why are coffee salons so popular? Because in the high-end Western restaurant coffee, then a cup of 15 money, and imitation of Paris or New York coffee shop, then thoroughly implement a cup of 5 money of low-priced coffee. So for a third of the price, you can have authentic and aromatic Brazilian coffee. At the famous coffee salons in the country, the number of Japanese who taste delicious coffee is countless. Coffee salons leave an indelible legacy for popular coffee.

Coffee lovers did increase a lot during the Taisho era, and they became more popular during the Zhaohe era. However, during World War II, coffee was stopped because it was an "enemy drink." Coffee disappeared from Japanese life for a while. Coffee is appreciated and loved as a "messenger of peace."

The coffee market in Japan is very competitive. Includes tea shop and home regular coffee and instant coffee, home coffee and office coffee, a variety of canned coffee, plus hospitality coffee, delicious coffee and so on. Especially in the Heisei era, the demand for more authentic coffee also increased.