Drinking and eating has always been an excuse to catch up
with old pals. But the coffee as a stimulant, having the habit forming
substance of the drug caffeine, urges one to ritualize and regularize such
hang-outs, with the rich aroma of coffee beans wafting through the air.
The famous sociologist
C. Wright Mills writes “The sociological imagination requires us, above all, to
‘think ourselves away’ from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order
to look at them anew.” (Mills,1970) To elaborate his argument he goes at length
in reading the act of coffee drinking. The social aspects around holding a cup
of coffee in hand, with friends, or alone are enormous. How it opens up a space
for conversation to flow is but obvious. What makes it even more symbolic is
how an individual holding this glass of beverage gets heavily class marked from
the moment he takes it up. This is because coffee is a drink that links people
in some of the wealthiest and impoverished parts of the world; it being
consumed in heavy quantities in wealthy nations while being produced primarily
in poor ones. So while we don’t give it a thought there is a stark difference
between sipping a cup of tea and a coffee. Your order will surely project your
status.
Along with this, whether you choose a latte or an espresso,
decaffeinated coffee or organic coffee asserts your status and your
personality. An espresso is sure to make your date on the other side of the
table judge you as a purist, unadaptable to change and resenting much
experimentation. A latte might make you fit into another personality type,
modernity being a paradigm of labeling you and making you fit in a box. Placing
an order at a Starbucks café will again make you quite different from someone
who enjoys coffee in a plastic cup from the chaiwallahs at the shack in the
neighbourhood.
Pouring yourself a mug of strong coffee? Ask yourself who it
makes you while your brew’s still hot!
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