Happy 4th of July - From the Outside In: Reflections on Coffee's Multiplicity

This week marked the 248th birthday of the United States, and we have many things to celebrate that this nation has given the world. These wonders--according to AI--include television, the internet, the submarine, Apple TV, and Taylor Swift.

When we think about coffee, however, we usually don’t think about the United States as being a place to get the best cup. We certainly don’t grow much of it in the continental states, and we brought the world Starbucks (which wins on convenience and omnipresence, but not quality). 

Instead, we usually think about countries like Colombia, Kenya, and Ethiopia that produce some of the best coffee beans in the world. In terms of brewing, Italy and their espresso culture is definitely cream of the crop for us. If anything, when we think about American Coffee, we tend to picture big Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffees or the pots of Coffee sitting countless hours at roadside gas stations while traveling on the highway.

Nevertheless, as two individuals who constantly like to explore the intricacies of different coffees and coffee shops, we find it interesting to see the convergence of both the global and the domestic whenever we sit down and order our favorite drink. You could say that being a coffee drinker in this country really puts into perspective the diverse array of livelihoods that take part throughout the brewing process. From the farm to our table, the many languages and cultures that coffee beans experience really make it hard not to reflect about how java is embedded into the social fabric of our daily lives.

And even though coffee isn’t American per se, it is central to how we shape our lives, our cultures, and our cities. With this in mind, this post will be a reflective exercise for the both of us to put into perspective the global and national breadth of coffee in our lives.

We’d love to hear your stories as well, so please share in the comments below.

Saul:

Growing up, coffee served two purposes: Charlas (chats) and Chamba (Mexican slang for work). I’ve already spent some time here talking about the constant presence of coffee and Pan Dulce (Sweet Bread) at the kitchen table surrounded by family members. But today, I’d like to reflect on how coffee was a source of energy to tackle the day. Growing up, I used to see my dad come back from work with his bright yellow McCafe cups. He is a truck driver so coffee and the road just went together like cheese and wine. 99 cents got you a large coffee (I am not sure how much inflation has impacted this) and a good boost of energy.

Eventually, the road expanded his horizons and he started becoming a fan of Speedway Coffee. It helped that he had a rewards card, so he would often get free coffees every so often. On days where he had a coupon, we would go and fill those ugly Speedway cups with coffee. I became a fan of their Hazelnut blend, but looking back I am not sure if it was the coffee or the multiple loads of vanilla creamer that masked every trace of coffee. For a time following my childhood, I came to associate coffee with the roads and my father’s journey across the interstate highway. Coffee wasn’t a luxury; it was more of an extension of one’s work ethic. Coffee meant work and it meant fuel.

Over time, when I started to frequent coffee shops I started to discover about the many countries that produced coffee, even Mexico! I like to say that my idea of coffee broadened at the same time my own mind was intaking all the information in my college classes. I guess you could say that coffee did become an extension of my work day. Just like how my dad navigated the many roads of Wisconsin, so did I navigate the many branches of Latin American and Spanish literature at Marquette.

I am always reminded about how this country's coffee culture is fairly recent and unique. I also think about how all of us bring something into the fray. And even though we are surrounded by amazing coffee shops, I think that localizing our personal experiences with coffee makes you reflect on your own place in this country. Through my time as a coffee drinker and thinker, I have come to appreciate the multinational journey that my coffee makes. But more importantly the very local and very real story of how we come to love coffee and those individuals that make us appreciate it, are the ones that keep me writing.

Gabe:

Growing up, I never thought of coffee as American (i.e., U.S. culture). My father was Colombian and his favorite spot was a Puerto Rican deli in Spanish Harlem that sold cafe con leche. His grandfather ran the Colombian coffee federation, so I always say that coffee is in my blood. After writing my undergraduate thesis on my great-grandfather, one of my post-college dreams was to go to Colombia, live on a coffee farm, and actually learn what coffee was all about.

Now, in my late-thirties (though not for much longer), I love how much I can learn about coffee here in my city and in my travels across the country. Even though I have visited coffee farms in Colombia, I learned most of what I know about it from a class at Stone Creek. Checking out places like Discourse, my mind is open to creative potential for something so seemingly simple. Working for hours at Colectivo on 68th in Tosa, I love people watching the families, working meetings, social get togethers of old friends, intensive work states of those on laptops, and more. When I travel and land in a new city, I am almost giddy with anticipation of going to a new coffee shop and striking up conversations with baristas and workers to learn about how they process and source their coffee. 

I feel fortunate to be living in a time in our country when coffee is so American and yet so international, so local and yet so universal. To me, the Milwaukee coffee scene embodies this local and international synergy. It is quintessentially MKE--its people, its vibes, its passion--and yet also international both in how it is shared across diverse cultures in the city and many of our coffee shops raise the profile of local farmers across the world.

So, as we celebrate our national independence, you certainly have every right to honor our chains that have gone global, but I might recommend taking a moment to savor the global come local in your cup of joe.

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Note: We encourage you to share your thoughts, musings, and memories about coffee as American and as international below.