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Coffee Culture
COFFEE IN GREECE - DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
It is hard to believe that there was once a world without coffee - it has become deeply engrained into many societies across the world (Cowan, 2008), Coffee was entirely unknown until the middle of the fifteenth century, when it was first consumed by a small minority in the Red Sea basin. Cowan believes that the rise of coffee was inevitable, and that it has become one of the largest shapers of consumer habits in the early modern world. This epitomises the widespread coffee culture that is now apparent in Greece. According to a 2011 study into worldwide annual coffee consumption, Greece ranked 15th highest with an estimated consumption of 5.5kg coffee per capita (Chartsbin, 2011). This is reported not to have shown any signs of decreasing despite the economic crisis. A recent study into the number of coffee shops remaining open throughout the financial downturn, as reported by Tsolakidou (2012), concluded that the Greek coffee market with an estimated worth of €300m has suffered no severe loss. The infographic below demonstrates how this volume of coffee is sold between competitors, and how coffee preferences are split throughout the population.
One of the most well recognised methods of integrating into local culture successfully as a tourist in a foreign country is to adopt the same practices as locals. In Greece, as observed by Dritsa (2015) coffee drinking extends beyond the actions of just habit, and has become more of a daily ritual. The culture of Lesvos is in this way, no different to that of the mainland. People enjoy coffee alone whilst reading a newspaper, through to sharing coffee with friends and colleagues in a cafe, and it is acknowledged that this culture has become a central way of socialising, catching up with the news of the day, or even engaging in a board game. Although not so much of an issue in Lesvos, Eftychiou & Philippou (2010) consider how indigenous coffee houses in Cyprus have traditionally been 'politicised social spaces', however owners are trying to neutralise them to form modern-day coffee shops in an attempt to gain tourist appeal. Politically neutralised objects such as oil lamps and photographs are replacing old artifacts in these newly constructed social places to satisfy tourists' perceived notions of Mediterranean culture. Instead of frequenting tourist hotspots such as these, the coffee tour outlined on this website will work to best engage you in authentic local experiences, by guiding you to a selection of the best coffee houses that Mytilini has to offer.
Click on the infographic above to see how the Greek coffee market has been unaffected by recent economic conditions, coffee preferences, and how the market is split amongst competitors – infographic courtesy of www.greekinfographics.gr
COFFEE HOUSE BY DAY, BAR BY NIGHT
Because coffee is so embedded in Greek culture, many independent Greek cafes are performing exceptionally well against multinational coffee chains that have begun trading there. The success of these local-run shops is attributed to the bundling of various different traditional concepts that occupy different parts of a business day (Mourdoukoutas, 2014) in his comparison between Starbucks and local startup company Mikel Coffee Company. These range from a traditional coffee shop (kafeneio) setup in the morning, offering a sit-in coffee service, through to a coffee stand offering takeaway coffee, and a club-bar in the evening, serving alcoholic beverages under dimmed lighting and music. The adaptability of traditional Greek coffee houses is one of the main reasons for the low presence of international coffee chains that is visible in Mytilini. The ability to remain in one establishment throughout the day to the early hours of the morning is fairly unique, and several kafeterias in the coffee tour follow this same pattern of trading, allowing you to experience this for yourself.
This 'kafeteria' concept as has just been outlined is a popular setting for Greeks, especially amongst the younger demographic (Dritsa, 2015). Kafeterias also often offer outdoor seating, and a wide range of coffees, other beverages and food. The 'kafeneio' concept, as mentioned earlier, is the second type of Greek cafe visible in Mytilini. These offer a very authentic, traditional coffee shop experience, most commonly frequented by the older generations as a place to regularly meet and socialise (Jolliffe, 2010), although all other customers are welcome too.
Photograph Acknowledgement:
Modern cafe heading image: Courtesy of Wixpress Ltd.
Cafe culture banner image 1: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1622015
References:
Chartsbin. (2011). Current Worldwide Annual Coffee Consumption per capita. [Online] Available at: http://chartsbin.com/view/581 [Last Accessed: 26 April 2015]
Cowan, B. (2008). The social life of coffee: The emergence of the British coffeehouse. Yale University Press.
Dritsa, K. (2015). Revealing the secrets of coffee culture in Greece. [Online] Available at: http://www.fantasytravelofgreece.com/blog/revealing-secrets-coffee-culture-greece.html [Last Accessed: 26 April 2015]
Eftychiou, E., & Philippou, N. I. C. O. S. (2010). Coffee-house culture and tourism in Cyprus: A traditionalized experience. Coffee culture, destinations and tourism, Channel View Publications, Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto, 66-86.
Jolliffe, L. (Ed.). (2010). Coffee culture, destinations and tourism (Vol. 24). Channel View Publications.
Mourdoukoutas, P. (2014). Starbucks' Little Greek Problem - Mikel. [Online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2014/09/07/starbucks-little-greek-problem-mikel/ [Last Accessed: 27 April 2015]