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Zachary Sandifer

UWRT 1101-009

April 13, 2017

The Coffee Culture

Over the past few decades coffee shops have become increasingly popular. The purpose

of this ethnography is to explore this phenomenon and attempt to uncover the reason why coffee

shops have become a major part of our culture. Most people can make their preferred beverage at

home for a fraction of the price it, so why go? Is it out of laziness or convenience? Perhaps

people go to experience the culture or the atmosphere there. Many people were sampled at a

local coffee shop and research was conducted to understand why coffee shops are so popular in

todays culture.

The coffee shop studied for this ethnography was the Broad River Coffee Company

located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. This is a place where students from the nearby

college spend many hours at for various reasons. There are, however, other people in the

community who go there for the coffee, to do personal work, or to just hang out. The coffee shop

is an excellent place for people of all walks of life to gather, due to the many things the coffee

shop does for the community. For instance, there are days where a local sign language club will

meet there to practice sign language. Also, there is live music on certain day. The atmosphere this

creates attracts people from all over town.

There is always the question of why people continue to come to the coffee shop and buy

drinks. This has been a question in which many people have explored and attempted to answer. It
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has always been a wonder for many people as to why so many of us would rather go to a coffee

shop and pay extra for the same beverages that could be made at home for a fraction of the price.

In my personal experience as a customer, I focused on a few key details. My first focus

was the atmosphere of the store. Examining the atmosphere is crucial to understanding the

environment and culture of the shop. As more time was spent in the store, I could really sense

feeling and character of the coffee shop. The building itself is not anything spectacular. There are

not too many things that pop out at you inside of the coffee shop, it just has a dull yellow look to

it. Even with a drab environment there was still a feeling the place gave was very noticeable.

Everyone there seemed to be doing their own thing, and many of the people there were busy

working hard on their laptops. Seeing so many people choosing a place like this to get their work

done was really intriguing. The atmosphere itself isnt overly loud, but it isnt as quite as a

library either. It felt busy in the store and it gave you the feeling that you just wanted to do

something. I noted that it felt like it was easier for me to stay on task with what I was trying to

accomplish there, and seeing other people inside of the coffee shop hard at work gave me the

motivation to completely focus on my work.

There was also a real sense of community in the coffee shop. Although everyone seemed

to be broken off into their own tasks, there was a sense of respect and friendliness. Nobody

questioned what others there were doing, nor did they give off any rude or ostracizing looks that

you might receive in another public place. Everyone had their own set of tasks to work on and

everyone else respected that. If there were interactions between people, they were all friendly

and calm. This created a peaceful and calming environment for everyone there.

The atmosphere could be a massive selling point for coffee shops. From the feel of the

people there to the culture, the atmosphere of a business is the heart of it. The atmosphere
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determines the type of people who will want to come support at your business. In an article by

Lisa Waxham, she explored the atmosphere of coffee shops to determine why the atmosphere of

the coffee shops seemed to bring in people and encourage gathering. She says, Each coffee shop

was found to have a unique social climate and culture related to a sense of belonging,

territoriality, and ownership, productivity and personal growth, opportunity for socialization,

support and networking, and sense of community. This shows that coffee shops can use their

atmosphere to attract customers, and there are many factors that play a part in determining why

people enjoy those atmospheres (Waxham 1). A major part of the atmosphere at Broad River

Coffee Company, which can be related to Waxhams findings is the sense of belonging. The

coffee shop studied had a very welcoming atmosphere to it, and as Waxham mentioned, that can

play a major part in why coffee shops are so successful.

Just like at any other business, the service received by the workers was considered during

my research. As a customer walks in the door, they are usually greeted by the barista. This action

by the worker helps to create a welcoming environment for the customer, making then more

likely to stay and engage in a transaction with the business. Even with only one person behind

the counter, orders are taken care of in a very timely manner. This is very important for a

business, because slow service will make impatient customers reluctant to do business with the

store again. The coffee was brewed well and tasted great. After tasting it firsthand, one can

understand why people enjoy the coffee as much as they do. Perhaps consumers find it

impossible to recreate beverages that they find at a coffee house, and are willing to pay higher

prices to enjoy their preferred beverage.

Personal interviews helped to create a solid answer for the question posed. Customers

were asked basic questions to help determine why consumers continue to go to coffee shops.
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There were also other questions asked, regarding reasons as to why they first began drinking

coffee, to attempt to see if there could be other commonalities amongst the consumers at coffee

shop.

During an interview with Victoria White I found out that Victoria attends the coffee shop

regularly, mainly to do work. When later asked why she went to the coffee shop to do her work,

she responded by explaining that she preferred to get her work done at the coffee shop rather

than a library because she did not feel as if she was trapped inside of a room solely there to do

work (White). With the welcoming and busy feeling of a coffee shop it was easy to see how she

felt she could escape the quiet environment of a library in a coffee shop.

I also wanted to find out the reason she began to drink coffee. Victoria first began

drinking coffee with her dad. She explained that her father used to take her deer hunting, and she

would drink coffee with her dad on these trips. Victoria said these hunting trips are what first got

her into drinking coffee. She went on to explain that she really started drinking coffee seriously

in high school, when she had early classes to wake up for and needed to be alert (White).

Christopher Ashworth, another interviewee, also comes to the coffee shop to get work

done. When asked why he replied, The coffee shop has an atmosphere that is relaxing to me,

while not being distracting from my work (Ashworth). After spending time at the coffee shop

one could see why the store was a first choice for people who needed a productive environment.

Due to the calming a peaceful atmosphere at the coffee shop, it is clear it would make for a good

place to do work, keeping the person at work calm instead of stressed.

As a young child, Christopher was exposed to coffee by his grandmother, but he said

during that time in his life he hated the coffee because she drank it black. As time went on
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Christopher started drinking McDonalds Frappes and they got him hooked (Ashworth). This

also correlates well to the same reason Victoria White began to drink coffee. Though Christopher

did not enjoy his grandmothers coffee, both customers were exposed to the beverage by a family

member.

A short interview was also conducted with a man by the name of Daniel Johnson. Daniel

was someone who did not come to the coffee shop as often and explained that he only came

about once a week. He said that he liked to come to the coffee shop because it was just

somewhere different to do his work. Daniel also expressed that his liking for coffee wasnt due to

an influence from another family member or friend, in fact Daniel said that he had just got into

coffee one day (Johnson).

This shows that people come to coffee shops mainly to do their work. According to

Simeon Oxenham, most people prefer the welcoming environment of a coffee shop over a library

because it is noisy, and noisy environments enhance creativity and concentration (Oxenham 1).

This was found to be true during time spent in the coffee shop. As previously mentioned, I found

it easier to focus on the task at hand at the local coffee shop. This was also evident during my

interviews. Most participants said they preferred to work in a coffee shop as opposed to

somewhere else.

Perhaps the environment and noise have nothing to do with an increase in productivity.

Oxenham goes on to mention that it might not be the noise at all, instead, it could just be the

people who are around you. Oxenham mentions that the people around you, who are responsible

for their work could encourage you to be more productive. Perhaps the people in life who are

driven to work hard and complete their task encourage you to do the same through their actions

(Oxenham 1). This poses a different point of view that others who do not work as well with noise
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may be able to find an easier time relating. Maybe noise has nothing to do with an increase in

productivity, maybe an increase in productivity is connected to you trying to emulate others who

are working hard.

Heather McPherson wrote an article on why she thinks people go to coffee shops to

study. McPherson interviewed multiple students at a coffee shop at a college campus why they

went there to study. McPherson explains that she has trouble studying and doing work in a noisy

environment. She found the opposite of what Simeon Oxenham suggested. McPherson found

that the reason students went to coffee shops was for more of a social aspect rather than for

productivity. She found that students admitted their productivity dropped when they studied at a

coffee shop. Whenever students were trying to get a lot of work done and seriously study, they

went to the library instead. Somewhere they could concentrate and not have to worry about being

bothered by others. She found that students generally go to coffee shops for the interactions they

have with others. She says, The main reason why people study in coffee shops, however, is that

they enjoy running into people they know. Students see their friends coming by, and they can

chat with them for a nice study break (McPherson 1). This is very different from the findings of

Oxenham, though it is a very real possibility. We are social creatures and we like to have the

company of others. This can become more apparent when we are slaving over papers and

schoolwork for hours without any interaction with others. Studying at a coffee shop can help to

remedy that.

As previously mentioned, the coffee shop studied in this ethnography has live music there

every week. This could also be a contributing factor as to why people like to go there. The artist

or the music, in general, could be bringing a small crowd for the entertainment as well as helping

to increase customer satisfaction. According to a study conducted by Adrien North, David

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Hargreaves, and Jennifer McKendrick, there is a positive correlation between music being played

in a business verses no music. These researchers spent nine days examining this theory in a bar

and a bank. What they found was that the customers at each location responded well to having

live music at the location. They found that having music in a commercial environment can help

to boost the atmosphere and mood in the business (North, Hargreaves, and McKendrick 1).

There are many other theories as to why coffee shops attract so much attention. Kashmir

Gander has an interesting one, that people are trying to emulate lifestyles they see on television.

Gander says, Drinking coffee was also seen to emulate the cosmopolitan New York lifestyles

showcased in hugely popular sitcoms like Friends or Seinfeld (Gander 1). This particular idea is

extremely apparent in todays culture. As Americans, we constantly see our celebrities in TV

shows and movies wearing the latest fashion trend and accessories. When we see, celebrities

doing certain things, a lot of the population is bound to do the same. This is particularly apparent

the way that companies advertise their products to consumers. Gatorade gets famous athletes to

be in their commercials, clothing companies get models to advertise their clothes, and so on.

Whether we accept it or not the celebrities in our society have an influence on us, and they could

very well have a large influence on our interest in coffee.

Nick Brown has another reason of why coffee shops are becoming such a large staple in

our culture. After reading a report from the National Coffee Association Brown quoted from the

NCA, However, more Millennials are drinking coffee out-of-home, turning coffee consumption

into a public expression of individuality. In the age of Instagram, every detail needs to be on-

brand nothing is really private (Brown 1). This idea expresses that our interest in coffee, at

least with the younger generations, is down to more of an expression of personality. This is also

very apparent in our culture today. Everyone wants to keep the whole world updated on their
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lives. People are constantly posting pictures on social media about the food they are eating and

the drinks they are drinking. It is a popular and trendy thing to go to your local caf, order a

beverage, and get work done there. Going to coffee shops and drinking coffee is just what is

popular now, and there is clearly more incentive for people to spend a few extra bucks on a fancy

coffee beverage now than ever before.

Gracy Olmstead helps to reiterate this idea. She draws the comparison between coffee

lovers with wine lovers. She states, It seems many people are as excited about various coffee

brews as they are about winesand coffee tasting can have a similar air of self-conscious elitism

as that expressed in various wine-loving circles. This also shows that people go to coffee shops

and buy fancy drinks as more of a statement of popularity, and not so much for the simple

enjoyment of coffee. She also says, Coffee drinking, like so many other foodie veins, comes

with a bit of identity sculpting. The way you drink, where you drink, how you drinkall of it

becomes part of your cultural and social persona (Olmstead 1). This reiterates that all the

decisions made by these consumers is about making a public statement about themselves. These

articles show the ventures we make to coffee shops might not just be about good coffee and

getting work done, but more about polishing your own personal image of what people perceive

you to be.

There are many different factors in determining why we as a culture are so infatuated

with coffee shops. From the atmosphere to making statements about our personality, there are

various reasons as to why people continue to spend money at these businesses. There cannot be

one definitive answer as to why people go to coffee shops, but rather, many of the reasons

previously stated, are some of the main reasons as to why people go. As long as this trend

continues, you can expect to see coffee shops be a major part of our culture.
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Works Cited

North, Adrian C., David J. Hargreaves, and Jennifer Mckendrick. Effects of Music on

Atmosphere in a Bank and a Bar. Vol. 30. N.p.: Journal of Applied Social Psychology,

2000.

Scanner, Brian, and Simon Oxenham. "Do You Get Your Best Work Done in Coffee Shops?

Heres Why." New Scientist. N.p., 27 May 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Gander, Kashmira. "Coffee in the UK: How Britain Became Addicted to Cafe Culture." The

Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Waxman, Lisa. "The Coffee Shop: Social and Physical Factors Influencing Place Attachment."

The Coffee Shop: Social and Physical Factors Influencing Place Attachment (Article,

2006) [UNC Charlotte Libraries]. Journal of Interior Design, May 2006. Web. 23 Mar.

2017.

Ashworth, Christopher. Personal Interview. 28 March 2017

White, Victoria. Personal Interview. 28 March 2017

Johnson, Daniel. Personal Interview. 28 March 2017

Olmstead, Gracy. "Why Do Americans Drink Coffee?" The American Conservative. N.p., 27

Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

McPherson, Heather. "Why Do People Study At Coffee Shops?" Odyssey. N.p., 19 Oct. 2015.

Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

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Brown, Nick. "NCAs 2016 National Coffee Drinking Trends Report Is Big on The M Word."

Daily Coffee News. Roast Magazine, 13 Oct. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.