The Mystique Of The Coffee Shop and Millennials

heightenedliving (55)in #thoughts • 7 years ago

Go into any hipster coffee shop and you'll probably end up seeing 10 millennials hunched over working feverishly at their next school assignment, job project, or even coding the mechanism that you are using to read this.

There's some mystique in this culture and I want to explore it a little more deeply in today's mind dump.

What A Coffee Shop Stands For

Most of us see or think of coffee and just picture Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks or Caribou (granted I don't think many people think about Caribou.)

Its these top of mind brands that have occupied that space in the minds of the many.

They have prime real estate for advertising, for campaigning and for collecting those well-earned dollars day after day.

Yet, besides from Starbucks, we see a majority of people switching over to hole-in-the-wall, artisanal coffee shops.

There's a hipster awe, the perfect smell, and a joyous productive mood that continues to enrapture the people who treck there day after day.

But why?

Freedom and Quality

Ask just about any person on this earth what their number one right is, and they will say freedom.

Not knowing what true freedom is and truly being able to express yourself is one thing, but having the ability to go to a coffee shop and work on your own time and your own will changes the game.

Its similar to the age-old corporate office where people are stuck inside a windowless building with no culture or warmth to it.

And then suddenly a coffee shop pops up, which gives you the ability to tune into what needs to be done, without feeling cramped.

That's why Google, Facebook, Youtube and all the other social media monopolies are creating these awesome office spaces.

If it doesn't feel like work, is it?

Structuring a company or facility around this motto, is the easiest way to encourage productivity, the ability to speak out and creativity without the stifling cubicle that boxed off so many lives before it.

An Institution Vs. People

With blockchain becoming popular, apps like Uber and Lyft, and so much more peer-peer (regardless of an intermediary) companies popping up, we are starting to see a new revolution.

People trusting other people

100 years ago you would not let someone in their horse and buggy come and actually pick you up to drive you somewhere, but that's changed in today's world.

You can stay at someone's house you don't know, have someone you don't know drive you around, or even have someone you don't know come to your house and give you a massage.

Similarly, at a coffee shop you know John is giving you this coffee, you watch him make it, the effort that goes in and the passion (if you are getting a pour over or something comparable) fills it up.

Its like a relationship of neglect (institution) vs care (people.)

Humanizing things is in our nature.

Its why every Pixar movie has humanized toys or ants or whatever it may be.

We aim to make something familiar to what we know, and as the power struggle between an institution pushing you to the sides and severely limiting your ability to be free and express yourself fades away, we start the interaction with people again.

Saying "Hey" when walking down the street or flashing a smile.

Its what coffee shops are about, that feeling of abundance and passion mixed together in the gold cup of goodness sitting next to me as I write this.

How Coffee Shops Are Simply A Symbol of Change

Almost every town or city that has a population, and even some that don't, are starting to get into craft coffee.

Wine bars are popping up everywhere, and the same is better and better gelato or ice cream places.

These are all dense rich flavors.

Flavors, that if done right, can create some amazing spectacular experiences for our consciousness.

We are moving from the age of quantity (who can have the most land) to quality (I want the best piece I can have and I'll make do with it.)

It can be seen from government to coffee shops.

A deeper thought process that spins a frequency raising our awareness and beings to the next best thing.

So what really are these coffee shops standing for?

Not necessarily a workplace or a place to get a jolt of energy, but today, for millennials and the people who treck 15-30 minutes to get to one of these places, it combines comfort, quality, and freedom.

And that's all we have.

Thanks for reading,

Austin

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#coffee #philosophy #people #life