Coffee mediates some of society’s most important interactions
Don’t overlook the value of coffee, writes Joss Miller.
CAFES have a history dating back to 16thcentury Constantinople. From there they spread across Europe but took a bit longer however to reach New Zealand.
Coffee is grown in many countries with Brazil by far the greatest producer. Gratifyingly, it seems that the health benefits from drinking coffee far outweigh possible detrimental effects. Literary figures such as Ernest Hemingway were associated with a particular cafe‚ or cafes in Paris, as were many writers of that period including JeanPaul
Sartre. Here they found inspiration for their creative endeavours. Cafes have also provided solace for the lonely, as so well captured in Ralph McTell’s song Streets of London
which includes these lines:
In the all night caf‚ at a quarter past eleven
Same old man sitting on his own Looking at the world over the rim of his teacup
Each tea lasts an hour and he wanders home alone.
Cafes are places that many people nowadays frequent on a regular basis. Premises come in all shapes and forms, with coffee being a central but not necessarily predominant theme.
In New Zealand, cafe culture is a reasonably recent phenomenon that has burgeoned from small beginnings in the late 1940s. As a student at the University of Otago in the 1970s cafes, as I recall, were relatively few and far between. The Little Hut and Stewarts Coffee, though, were venues that sparked the odd romance. Interestingly, each of those was located below street level.
Since then cafes have sprung up across the city, with some enduring, some not. Many have interesting names such as Morning Magpie, Rhubarb and Modaks. Animal/dog themes are not uncommon, examples being Wolf at the Door and Dog with Two Tails. For many years there was a wellknown cafe in Bath St called Strictly Coffee. It then had a name change to Insomnia. I arranged to meet a colleague there but inadvertently referred to it as Amnesia. The subtle difference was fortunately noted by my companion. On another occasion I was waiting at Sugar Cafe‚ but should have been at Mash.
There are of course a mindboggling range of coffees such as short blacks, long blacks, americanos, flat whites, cappuccinos, mochas, iced coffees and many others. As a student, much time was spent in the Union cafe‚ where instant coffee was the mainstay. I am pretty sure that there was a close correlation between the time spent there and one’s end of year grades. In practising law my motto was that time spent drinking coffee was never wasted. This was often when some of the best thinking took place. It also provided a stress release from court hearings and a chance to reflect dispassionately (or otherwise) on a particular judge or judge’s demeanour that day.
Our local cafe in Waverley is called Tuppence, with its value being much greater than the name suggests. It is a genuine community meeting place and draws patrons from across the city as well. Tuppence has a character and intimacy of its own. A place to relax, enjoy and reinvigorate. We should not overlook the value of coffee.