"...And while all of these instances have transactions intrinsic to their nature, they are habits - habits born out of meaning instead of transaction. Daily rhythms and habits are, at their core, ceremonial. The things we find meaningful, we prioritize. Then, over time, our priorities become habits. As a result, we find our lives full of little ceremonies that give our life meaning and connect us to others.
This is the fundamental nature of coffee."
Many of us in the West consider our dining and drinking habits as primarily transactional.
We exchange currency for a service and a product. We expect a 1:1 correlation between the money that we pay and the product we receive. In many cases, these “transactions” happen routinely (often daily) and as a result of habit or rhythm.
The argument can be made, however, that the very nature of these “transactions” make them not transactions at all. Instead, a lot of our habits of consumption are actually ceremonies. Think of the home-brewing coffee fanatic who wakes up every morning excited to boil water and hand-brew their first cup of coffee for the day. Think of the worker that stops at their closest fast-food chain for a quick breakfast on their way to work. Think of the small family that dines at their kids’ favorite restaurant for chicken tenders and fries on a weekly basis. Think of the mother who always stops at her local cafe after dropping her children off at school. The list could go on and on…
And while all of these instances have transactions intrinsic to their nature, they are habits -
...habits born out of meaning instead of transaction. Daily rhythms and habits are, at their core, ceremonial. The things we find meaningful, we prioritize. Then, over time, our priorities become habits. As a result, we find our lives full of little ceremonies that give our life meaning and connect us to others.
This is the fundamental nature of coffee.
Your daily rhythm of coffee drinking is a ceremony that is intensely personal and meaningful. Yet, it is also a ceremony that we’re often inclined to share with others. This perspective shifts our approach to coffee shops from primarily housing business transactions to a safe space for personal and communal ceremony.
So, it requires no stretch of the imagination to understand why coffee ceremonies are the original and primary way that coffee is shared in coffee’s homeland, Ethiopia. Whether we know it or not, it is no surprise that the generational rhythms of daily, communal coffee brewing in Ethiopia provides a template for how we can and should enjoy coffee today:
