Filtered: Coffee, the Café and the 21st-Century City (Routledge Advances in Sociology)

Café culture is flourishing in cities across the world. From London to Seoul, Melbourne to Shanghai and many cities in between, people are flocking to cafés. A recent phenomenon, café culture has made its reappearance only since the end of the 20th century. What is the appeal of the café for urban dwellers? And why now? ‘Having a coffee’ might be a daily ritual, yet it is more than coffee that draws us to the café. Cafés are vital social spaces, technically connected workspaces, and businesses that are forging design and food trends. The café is the lens through which this book explores major changes occurring in everyday life in cities across the world. Urban regeneration has fuelled the growth of urban amenity and social consumer spaces. The impact of technology, social and workplace transformation, and the ascendency of the design and food industries all find expression in the spaces of the cafe. The specialty coffee movement is a thriving, global presence, uniting café staff and customers across geographical borders, with a shared commitment to the connoisseurship of coffee. In the book’s global sweep, it examines the development of café culture in China, Japan and Australia as significant and interesting departures from traditional European café culture. Australia is a world leader and successful exporter of its unique style of coffee and food. Interviews with café patrons and staff illuminate why the café has become a meaningful place for many people in the 21st-century city. Cover Half Title Endrosement Title Page Copyright Page Dedication page Table of Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction Note Chapter 1 The café and the city The café ’s origins The café ’s ascendency: Why now? Defining café cultures: The dominance of specialty café s Global influences Urban revitalization or gentrification Urban dwellers: Demographic shifts On the move: Population mobility Technology Urban cultural development City, culture and consumption Notes Chapter 2 The café : Sociality and community from both sides of the counter Sociality, the city and the café Urban hybrid places Historical grounds Sociality in consumer spaces The convivial or hospitable city How inclusive can café s be? Café , place and community Sociality and connoisseurship: From the other side of the counter Notes Chapter 3 Coffee business The contemporary coffee terrain Niche markets: The ascendency of specialty coffee and third-wave Café s The bean: Coffee farming The process Problems for coffee producers Addressing inequities in coffee trade Coffee workers in affluent countries Coffee’s environmental impact The global north: Environmental impact Notes Chapter 4 The exported café : Australia Colonial relations: The arrival of coffee in Australia The 19th-century coffee palace The second-wave café Immigration’s influence 21st-century café culture Exporting Australian café culture Home-grown coffee Notes Chapter 5 Café s in Asia: Japan Introduction Global/local Japan: Direct origins Direct trade: Brazilian connections Contemporary Tokyo café s A culture for novelty Notes Chapter 6 Café culture in Mainland China and Hong Kong The urbanization of China All the coffee in China 21st-century metropolitan ascendency China – first phase: Starbucks and Costa Alternative business models Technology’s impact Home-grown exports On the ground in Shanghai Hong Kong On the ground in Hong Kong A growing concern Notes Chapter 7 Ambience, atmosphere and design It’s not just about the coffee... Atmosphere and interiors Interior exemplars: Authenticity and simplicity Specialty café s: The template Variations on a theme Aesthetics and appeal The design and aesthetic industries: Another growth story Notes Chapter 8 Wired and working: Technology, the café and work Café s and technology: From social to business Tech business Work, technology and the café What is it about the café that is satisfactory for workers? Notes Afterword: A heady brew References Index The unparalleled growth of cafe culture in 21st century cities is synonymous with profound social, cultural and technological change. This book explores these changes through the site of the cafe, as urbanism intensifies across the world.