As a coffee fiend I set out to explore the world of cafes wherever I may be. I not only am agog to discover original coffee recipes and note subtle tastes in beans and machine variation but also take in the entire visual, aural and stylistic elements that become unique to every cafe.
I am of course writing about local and unchained coffee houses, often magnets for Generation Y and their Apple sidekicks. The indie scene is alive and well in such places where eccentricity and apparent retro fashion is a prerequisite in clothing and mannerism.
Everyone needs to get away from the house where in the wintertime cabin fever sets in all too easily. It only makes sense that this market of community cafes becomes stronger as the homogeneity of Starbucks and other coffee chains serves to pall a generation of stylistic adventurers and young liberalists.
Indeed the cafe culture of Paris or Vienna is by no means comparable to what Cincinnati has to offer, but I like to think the coffee world here is evolving in its own vein much like the rest of the USA has set itself apart in other ways from our mostly European ancestry.
I do believe it’s a positive development in a society consisting of folks glued to LCD screens for much of their waking time. Sure they might also be glued to a screen at the coffee house but at the least human interaction is made possible by friendly baristas and a general feeling of togetherness and belonging with the living souls nearby. In addition, one does not have to deal with a boozed up crowd blaring out dribble unattractively.
The coffee house is a magical entity insomuch that the aroma of beans, the light sounds of friendly chatter abuzz with a constant source of indie rock and a style so individualistic completely place the mind in a state of contentment and feeling of human integration in a world so largely governed by machines. Or maybe that’s just me.