Wild Winters, Warm Coffee

If I remember correctly, my education at CMU taught me to understand that one’s worldview has a close relationship with culture. Worldview very simply is the underlying beliefs and understandings about physical and non-physical surroundings. Worldview is then visible through the actions, behaviours, and commonly held values of a given community - this is broadly defined as culture. Experiencing different cultures is a big reason for why people travel. The opportunity to explore how others interact with the world around them can give the person travelling an opportunity to critically reflect on what they experience and maybe even impact their own worldview. Coming to Europe I was excited by the prospect of experiencing different cultures with respect to coffee. I have spent three years working in the service industry in Winnipeg both during, and after my university degree. This allowed me a certain level of understanding of the culture of Winnipeg’s coffee shops as both a consumer, and a creator. Even within Canada different cities have slightly different coffee cultures. One small anecdote to highlight a difference between Winnipeg and Vancouver. When you purchase a bag of whole coffee beans in Winnipeg at a third wave shop, you are invariably offered a complimentary shot of espresso. Such a practice does not exist in Vancouver. People who wish to have a beverage in addition to their purchase of whole bean coffee are expected to pay full price for that beverage. Leaving the Canada I expected some slight differences, but continue to be slightly shocked by how different the coffee culture is in Europe. This is going to be all about coffee. This is supposed to be slightly informative for you, but mostly therapeutic for me after repeated experiences that differ from what I have come to appreciate about Winnipeg’s coffee culture. The most immediately recognizable difference in culture that I noticed was the fact that a large portion of coffee shops more closely resemble a full-service restaurant. North American cafes have their fancy toasts and pastries in addition to coffee, all served after queuing in a line, ordering, and waiting as your order is assembled. In Europe if you wish to sit in at a cafe, it appears to be custom that you find a table, then a server comes to you, takes your order, then delivers everything directly to you. A small segment of business is done quickly over the counter for those on the run, but the majority of business appears to occur in a manner resembling a restaurant. Some coffee shops further play on this by offering more complete meal options than would be seen in the majority of Canadian cafes I have visited. I’ve heard this practice deemed the “fourth-wave of coffee.” While the culture of tipping in Europe is not nearly as pervasive as in North America, you often end up paying the same amount in some way, shape, or form. The way this occurs is through charging different amounts for sitting in with a coffee, or taking the coffee away. In the establishments I visited in France it was common to add a small premium to the cost of a coffee if you planned to take it in a disposable vessel. Say a cappuccino costs three euro to sit in and drink it in a cup, to take the same beverage to go would often entail a 20-50 cent increase in the price of that beverage. Rather than internalizing the cost of the cup and lid by building it into the price of every beverage, an excise tax of sorts is added to the customer’s bill. This was largely the case in Italy as well. a beverage consumed on the premises would cost you less than it would cost to take that beverage with you. Strangely enough, the practice is flipped when you get to Greece. In Greece you pay a hefty premium for the privilege of sitting in an establishment. The price of a coffee nearly doubles when you make the decision to enjoy that beverage in the establishment. Just this week in Thessaloniki I visited the Blue Cup to have a coffee and journal a little bit about the previous day. I was treated to a flask of cold water and several small ginger-y cookies in addition to the coffee I ordered at the bar. All of these things were delivered to me as I recounted my day into a word document. The normal price for the coffee to take away would have been 1.80 euro, but to have it inside was 3.30 euro. I don’t think any of the service experiences I have had in Greece’s coffee shops has warranted a 45% premium on the cost of the coffee itself. Another interesting thing that I have experienced has been the general dissuasion from the consumption of filter coffee. Working in Winnipeg, the most commonly requested beverage was just a coffee. Here in Europe, you often have to pay a premium for “just a coffee.” In London the conversion rate meant I once paid over six dollars for a cup of coffee. On a not-entirely-related note, at Caravan Coffee Roasters in London, I was dissuaded from ordering a pour-over coffee, and was strongly encouraged to get a batch-brewed coffee instead. One time when I was willing to pay a premium, and I was suggested out of the idea by an employee who apparently didn’t care to put the effort into making a coffee for me. Fortunately I brought my aeropress with me, so I can just buy whole bean coffee and make it at my own convenience! One thing that I have experienced in both North America and in Europe has been the multiplicity of names for the different espresso-based beverages. The one(s) I have had the most difficulty with has/have been cappuccino and flat white. In Winnipeg, the two are more or less the same; espresso and steamed milk - generally to a total volume of no more than six ounces. In my experience the UK shares this understanding of what a cappuccino/flat white is. This all changed when I reached France. In France a cappuccino is a single shot of espresso combined with ~5 ounces of steamed milk, whereas a flat white consisted of a double shot of espresso with steamed milk. The total volume was the same between the two, it was just the amount of espresso that changed between the two. Things changed when I got to Italy. I remember trying to order a flat white in Venice, assuming the various terminologies I had learned in France would hold in Italy as well. Upon interrupting the barista and requesting the beverage be poured in a vessel smaller than the 10 ounce cup he was about to use, he scolded me, telling me that I should have ordered a double-shot cappuccino if that was in fact what I wanted. It appears that I cannot win at all with respects to ordering coffee, because I had further problems in Greece. I tried to order a double-shot cappuccino to take away (in order to avoid the service charge) and was handed a 10-12 ounce cup of espresso and steamed milk, I was also charged 3 euro, rather than the 2 euro listed on the menu board that hung in the cafe. Maybe I should just stick to making my own coffee. One final thing that I have found to be different between North American and European coffee shops has been the widespread acceptance of smoking. Different European countries/cities have different stances towards smoking, but none of them come near to the prohibitionary stance common in North America. Smoking on patios in France and in the UK appears to be common, though it is still banned in enclosed areas. Smoking appears to be banned in enclosed areas in Italy as well, but I was surprised to see the integration of tobacco sales offerings of coffee shops. You can run into your local shop on the corner in Italy for a quick 1 euro shot of espresso, and pick up a pack of cigarettes at the same time! How convenient! Greece continues to be the most different from my past experiences in coffee. It appears that you can smoke indoors in Greece. I walked into a shop to peruse their whole bean offerings and perhaps get a coffee to drink as well, and I was kinda shocked to see half of the seated tables with an ashtray in use. So strange to me! Sorry, one more final thing. The service in Europe hasn’t been as friendly as the service in Winnipeg. On the whole, I don’t find the coffee experiences I have had in Europe nearly as pleasant as those I have had in Winnipeg. There are some notable exceptions - Mame in Zurich, Honor in Paris, and Gardelli in Forli, but on the whole, not nearly as friendly as Friendly Manitoba. Admittedly, I experienced the hospitality of Winnipeg’s coffee shops differently when I was part of the in-group of coffee shop employees, nonetheless, I don’t feel that the service is nearly as nice as in Winnipeg - despite the fact you pay a premium for it! Next week I get to jump into another different coffee culture in Turkey! Experiencing different coffee cultures in Europe has allowed me to further appreciate aspects of the culture I am familiar with, and aspects that are distinctly european. Perhaps, if I decide to return to Canada and continue to work in the coffee industry, I can integrate positive aspects of European cultural coffee norms into Canadian cafes. Not smoking though, that can stay in Europe.