When it comes to coffee, everyone has their own habits. Others prefer a decaf after work just for the flavor while some folks must drink something first. From this we can see, social conventions and personal preferences are blended in coffee culture. Watch how coffee is drunk.
Coffee is a key enabler of social gatherings all around the world and plays a variety of roles in people’s lives, from ritualistic to functional. The economies of other nations also depend heavily on coffee. Travelers can gain insight into a place’s culture by partaking in local coffee rituals or by just sipping coffee while people-watching from a cafe. The variations in coffee from different parts of the world mirror those in the brewers.
Let’s explore how coffee influences its own culture based on the nation that drinks it.
Coffee culture around the world
1. Coffee consumption
With 115.2 liters used annually per person, the United States sits in ninth place overall for coffee consumption. A majority of Americans drink one or two cups of coffee each day, but 16 percent of customers say they drink four to five.
In the United States, individuals of all ages and genders drink coffee. For instance, 68 percent of people over 60 regularly consume coffee.
The other five nations that consume the most coffee, besides the United States, are listed below:
| The Netherlands | 260.4 |
| Finland | 184.9 |
| Canada | 152.1 |
| Sweden | 141.9 |
| Germany | 129.2 |
*the number is counted by per liters / person / year
2. Coffee flavors
Many Americans who drink coffee love flavoring it with creamers or sweets. However, this technique is much less widespread in Europe.
Coffee is often prepared very strongly and without milk, sugar, or creamer in Southern Europe and the Middle East. To their ground coffee, however, some Scandinavians first add a raw egg before pouring hot water.
Locals in Thailand take pleasure in “Oliang,” a unique iced coffee made by letting hot coffee simmer before adding ice and additional flavors. This distinctive coffee, which is frequently served over ice and has an appearance of orange or caramel, can be made by combining sweetened condensed milk with flavorful spices like cardamom.
Vietnamese natives want their coffee to be similar to Thai coffee but with a splash of egg yolk for richness, a recipe developed in the 1940s during a period of shortage of dairy products.
3. Coffee drinking rituals
People often like their coffee served as a brief and powerful espresso after lunch, supper, or in the late afternoon or evening in Italy, a nation recognized for its long standing coffee culture. While frothy milk and coffee, or cappuccino are popular throughout the world at any time of day, they are traditionally only consumed with meals in Italy, but kids may occasionally have one as a treat.
A classic “café au lait” in France is served in a bowl that is halfway filled with strong filter coffee and the other half with frothed milk. The Dutch (and Swedes) prefer to serve their lattes in tall glasses while Americans and the English traditionally prefer milky coffee served in cups.
Coffee ceremonies are an integral component of being a good host in several parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea. For guests, fresh green beans are first roasted here before the coffee is ground and sieved multiple times before being served. A ceramic pot is generally used to serve coffee.
