from David Fahey
Miami University (Ohio)

The coffee discussion prompts me to think of several things.

1) national differences and differences within "drug" consumption (the
USA often has chain retailers but not in the alcoholic beverage trade,
whether sale by drink or bottle)

2) the international dimension (not important in the USA for alcoholic
beverages or tobacco but important for coffee, tea, cocoa and most
illicit drugs)
(a colleague teaches a course on coffee & globalization)

3) the novelty of much of what is sold in upscale coffee houses (when I
was young, there was black coffee and white coffee; when I was
middle-aged, there also was decaffeinated coffee; now that I am old,
there are innumerable coffees with Italian names that I understand
imperfectly); I suspect that a large and prosperous middle class makes
the upscale coffee house possible (analogous to the sale of bottled
water in countries with safe tap water)


On Mar 11, 2005, at 12:00 PM, Janet Golden wrote:

> I've enjoyed the coffee discussion and particularly the passionate
> defense of
> Tim's mild coffee.  It makes me think of the old drug-set-setting
> paradigm.
> The Canadians I know seem to associate a visit to Tim's with
> relaxation.
> Anticipating a bad day at the office? Have some stress?  Go get a
> donut and
> coffee.  (I've jokingly called donuts the Canadian prozac)  The
> Americans I
> know, myself included, make those coffee visits for stimulation.  And
> coffee
> places are worksites. My colleagues and I all grade papers and exams
> sitting in
> coffee places and we write books and articles there. Universities now
> have
> coffee places not just in the campus center but in classroom and office
> buildings. The fact that so many independent coffee houses, university
> coffee
> places and the chains are now wireless network sites is an added
> attraction.
> Janet Golden
> Rutgers
>