“Let’s go for coffee” is a phrase that’s often thrown in at the end of your e-mails and yelled over your shoulder when you see a friend on the street. Whether for a first date, business meeting or study session, going for coffee seems to be the daily social excursion of choice on campus. So why is it that our social lives are beginning to revolve around a couple cups of joe?
Though you could easily whip up a cup of instant coffee without the barista, coffee shops are booming with people who go for a little something extra.
Danny Dhanoa, manager of Second Cup at 251 Princess St. said going for coffee is a social activity.
“If you want to meet somebody, most people meet over a cup of coffee,” she said, adding that it’s more than just the coffee that brings people together.
“Now you could get [coffee] at McDonald’s,” said Dhanoa, “but some people like it here for the smell of coffee, the atmosphere, the brand name and basically the service.”
Dhanoa said some of the draw to these cafés comes from the community atmosphere it provides for customers.
“We try to make this as a neighbourhood oasis, a place where people can enjoy the atmosphere and the service.” She said there are many people downtown looking for something to do from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“Some people aren’t into alcohol,” said Dhanoa.
She said everyone takes advantage of the coffee-shop setting, including students, local business people, seniors and families.
“It’s a meeting place for a lot of people.”
She said a lot of casual business meetings also take place at the coffee shop.
The Common Ground, upstairs in the JDUC, offers its customers a great meeting spot for friends, first dates or even group events like fundraisers along with their coffee, said Laura Manderson, head manager and ArtSci ’08.
“It provides a great social environment outside of school but still lends itself to studying,” she said.
Manderson said the Common Ground is welcoming to a diversity of students because of its relaxed environment where you don’t have anything imposed on you.
“I think the atmosphere is open to the interpretation of the customers,” said Manderson. “It’s this multitude of personalities that come together.”
The students serving students in the Common Ground adds to the comfortable atmosphere, Manderson said.
“The person serving you is empathetic to the situation you’re in,” she said, adding that the person behind the counter likely has the same tests, papers and stresses as the students who come in.
“Without a word, that person gets where you’re coming from.”
This is important because Manderson said coffee is a big part of the student experience.
“Coffee drinking tends to ramp up in university because you’re trying to keep yourself caffeinated.”
But the coffee becomes something social as well.
“Coffee is about more than just coffee. It’s about the people and the environment created here,” said Manderson.
Tea Room staff find their coffee shop is a social place where friends get together and students have group meetings, said Maia McCarron, Sci ’08 and operations manager for the Tea Room.
She said sharing a pot of tea has become a growing trend at the Tea Room.
“We find a lot of people will come again and again and have a tea for two with a friend. It’s a nice way for people to share something that they like,” she said.
According to McCarron, the Tea Room has a lot more to offer than what’s in your cup. It offers interesting reading material and music, which, when combined with its progressive attitudes, make it a trendy place, she said.
“It’s a cutting edge kind of place to meet,” said McCarron. “People enjoy the image of going to an up-and-coming coffee shop.”
The Tea Room sees coffee as an opportunity to educate the public about their social responsibility in sustaining the Earth, said McCarron.
“I think it is just sort of an interesting culture of learning at the Tea Room. Everyone is learning about environmentalism and the steps they can take in their daily lives,” she said.
She said they place an importance on keeping their staff educated as well.
But how much are customers really thinking about the values that their cups of java represents?
“I think [fair trade and sustainability] is important for some people,” McCarron said, adding that, for many, it’s just an added benefit to the quality products and good prices.
Although social responsibility is important for some in the culture of coffee, for others, having sustainable options might not influence their beverage of choice.
McCarron said although the Tea Room has a selection of teas, some that are fair trade and some that are not, fair trade often doesn’t end up being a selling point.
“People like to see that we do offer fair trade options. They like that we are being socially responsible, but many people don’t end up buying it.”
Marie Fennell, Starbucks’s regional director of operations for Ontario, said Starbucks tries to provide service to people through little details that create an atmosphere.
“It’s about the music. Sometimes it’s about the comfy chairs,” she said. “So it’s more than a cup of coffee.”
Meanwhile, Fennel said Starbucks tries to create a “third place” as an alternative to home and work, the primary two places where people predominantly live their lives.
“At Starbucks we’re really trying to create a gathering place.”
“It’s really about comfort and relaxation and people coming in to get a coffee.”
But getting a coffee isn’t so simple anymore, either.
“A cup of coffee, per se, is a large part of our business, but a lot of customers come in for our specialty drinks,” Fennell said.
“I would say we have different trends [in specialty drinks] based on customers’ preference and lifestyle and depending on the season.”
No matter what the season, grab your friends and share some laughs over your caffeinated beverage of choice.
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