The world’s first coffee shop is rumored to have opened its doors in 1475 in Turkey. Africa, often being the origin of all things cool, mind you, was possibly cultivating cofee as early as the 800’s. It took a while to travel and catch on. Fast forward to 2020 in Chicago, and there’s plans to open a giant Starbucks Coffee mega-shop where people will be able to see coffee as a spectacle. This addictive substance is certainly in the fabric of America, for example, Dunkin’ Donuts’s slogan is “America runs on Dunkin'” (although, very few joggers are likely making a stop there before their morning run, but I digress).
Somewhere between its origins, and the spectacle and commericaliation of this drug caffeine, the coffee shop honed in on a special role for artists, writers and musicians. The coffee shop became, and is, a meeting place that isn’t a pub or tavern. This public meeting place is differentiated from a pub as the emphasis isn’t on extroversion (i.e. hey baby pick up lines and loud cheering over sports games on television), but on introversion (i.e. quietly working on computers, sketch books or notebooks, while sipping coffee or tea).
This introversion in the midst of a public space is a key part of the artistic mystique of the coffee shop.
The effect of caffeine is also of note: it wakes you up, stirs your mind (coffee ramps up your central nervous system). What better way to approach an intellectual project than with an alert mind. Of course, the downside could by hyperness, or lack of nuance. However, overall, very few novels, poems, entrepreneurial ideas, flashes of brilliance what have you have occurred while the thinker was particularly drowsy, so we will say “hooray” to coffee for this service to the brain and body.
The history of the coffee house is dark and rich, and you can get a taste of it here: link to article on history of coffee houses.
In a way, social media has become the “coffee house” atmosphere in a digital realm, where people exchange ideas, rants and more with neighbors near and far. It can sometimes seem a bit more like a chicken coop, but again, I digress.
For music, coffee shops offer a specific music experience for the audience. Unlike a bar, coffee shops are often a “listening room” where the focus is on the music. Coffee houses are often game for open mics, small shows with songwriters (as the size of these extablishments lend themselves well to such acts), and seem to have the vibe of open-mindedness, freedom of speech, and, if not a tad of revolution, certainly a welcoming artistic environment. They are not the place for rock bands. Mostly, they are a place for singer-songwriters and small acoustic ensembles. One example in Chicago is Uncommon Ground, an establishment with a coffee-shop like atmosphere, along with a full service restaurant, which has had live music consistently for decades.
Not to romanticize coffee shops as mere forums for free thought and artistic laurels: similar to how live music is there for bars to sell drinks, likewise in cofee shops, musicians bring in people and/or encourage patrons to sit a spell and buy a coffee, tea, or meal.
Coffee culture can be strikingly indpendent as well as conforming to social norms. Coffee shops offer a specific culture, for patrons and musicians, and “coffee culture” itself does as well. Coffe culture is broadly the hype and marketing around coffee shops and coffee. As can be seen in the spectrum of the small independent coffee shop to the big broad bright green stripes on the cup of a Starbucks coffee, there is a wide variety of independence, and also a broad brush of conformity in the coffee drinking world. Many walk around downtown Chicago every morning with their little white lid on their coffee cup, marking themselves as members of some club, that is conformity. Little coffee shops, on the other hand, can be incredibly quirky and have all sorts of nuance and originality.
Coffee culture impacts musicians because it offers a place for free thought which can just as easily become enveloped in conformity.
Think about that over a cup of joe!