A seat at the bar: Issues of race and class in the world of specialty coffee

If you’re in academia, you probably have a very close relationship with

co􀃙ee. For most Americans, co􀃙ee feels like a necessary part of our day,

crucial to our higher-order cognitive functioning. Co􀃙ee has been a

staple in American households and workplaces for over 100 years, and

co􀃙ee as a commodity is one of the most widely traded and pro􀃚table

items on the international market (Pendergrast 1999). In early 19

century, co􀃙ee served as a strong index for the elite classes of American

society. It was expensive, often challenging to obtain, and was

consumed primarily within prestigious social circles. However, the

increasing reach of white European imperialism and the 􀃚ne-tuning of

the mechanisms of colonial trade and exploitation led to such resources

becoming accessible to a wider range of consumers. In less than a

century, the notion of co􀃙ee as a beverage consumed in the drawing

rooms of the upper crust eroded. Co􀃙ee instead became a ubiquitous

􀃚xture of the American working class, tied to notions of cheery

productivity and the booming prosperity of the American labor force

(Jimenez 1995).