At last, my seventh (and final) observation!
I love coffee. In college, I admittedly spent waaaaay too much money on coffee—especially when Starbucks moved into the SLC! And in D.C., I’m pretty sure half of my paycheck (well, half of the half that was left after taxes…) consistently went to Starbucks and Swings. Americans are quite curious with their cultural coffee obsession. The worldwide spread of coffee shops like Starbucks, Seattle Coffee Company, and Gloria Jean’s serve as interesting examples of American influence—much of which actually comes from movies.
On the other hand, I have very few American friends who would regularly sit down and enjoy a cup of tea. Excluding my grandmother Baxter, I am hard-pressed to think of anyone that had any sort of habit of drinking tea. Conversely, here in South Africa, I think it would be difficult to find someone who didn’t have at least one cup of tea each day. While my South African friends tell me that coffee is exponentially growing in popularity—tea is still the drink of preference for most South Africans. Not to mention, instant coffee is king here in South Africa. I suppose it makes sense… why brew a whole pot of filtered coffee if you’re not sure who is going to drink what? Instant coffee innately seems less wasteful. And it’s quicker. Yet, until three months ago, I think I had been given instant coffee perhaps four times in my whole life.
You may ask yourself, why do Americans have such an affinity for coffee when most other former British colonies have a strong preference for tea? Three words: Boston Tea Party. Okay, so technically, it began before that with the infamous Townshend Act. The Townshend Act, issued by King George and Prime Minister Lord North, outrageously increased the price of tea in the American colonies. After years of exclaiming, “No taxation without Representation,” and smuggling in cheaper tea from Dutch importers—Americans began to turn to coffee as an additional form of protest. As a result of the taxes, and the Tea Party, Americans viewed drinking coffee as patriotic…and drinking tea as unpatriotic. Who knew our resulting addiction to coffee would have such a lasting impact on our young country?
