I don't drink coffee.

It isn’t a rare occurrence that you would find me sitting in a coffee shop with a couple friends, occasionally accompanied by my laptop in an attempt to write a blog post, but more commonly just to hangout and chat. Quite a few of these instances take place in a Starbucks or a nearby café, which are first and foremost known for their coffee, but the thing is - I don’t order coffee.

In fact I never order coffee. The question that follows…

Why coffee shops?

Community.

Coffee shops have come to be known as hubs for community. Whether you’re having a mini reunion with friends to catch up on life, meeting a client to discuss business plans, or in need of a place for your group study session – a coffee shop is ideal. The atmosphere invites individuals from various walks of life to all gather in one place. In fact, you don’t even have to enjoy coffee to fit in at a coffee shop, weird huh?

Not long after I graduated from college, a friend of mine and I flew to meet up with one of our dear friends who lived in Seattle, Washington and we decided to set apart an entire day just to visit local coffee shops in the area. You guys…Seattle takes their coffee seriously. All I can say is that coffee is literally a part of the culture there. Each shop sought to express their unique style through their taste in music selection, ambience, décor, and menu items. The variety from one café to the next truly exceeded my expectations, yet the atmosphere felt somewhat familiar as we walked through every front door.

Although I was the minority, being a non-coffee drinker in the most caffeinated city in America, I can honestly say that I never felt out of place. That’s the thing about coffee shops; they have a little something for everyone who walks in. A coffee shop offers a place for the caramel macchiato aficionado, espresso enthusiast, pumpkin spiced latte lover, and the drinker of tranquil tea to sip their beverages together in harmony - in community.

Looking back over the past decade, I can confidently say that many of the greatest conversations in my life have taken place on comfy couches or in a chair across from a reclaimed wood table while the likes of Bon Iver played faintly in the background. Between sips of sweetened Passion Iced Tea is where I’ve found myself growing in community with old and new friends alike. The conversations amidst these brews have ranged from the most recent episode of a beloved TV show to the struggles of post-grad life to solving the world’s problems - one cup at a time.

In these moments, connections are made. Friendships are cultivated. People are brought together by four walls and the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee to take part in community. Whether you’re buddies with the barista or meeting up with a friend as they’re passing through town, you are investing in the lives of those around you – and that is a beautiful thing. 

I don’t drink coffee, but that hasn’t deterred me from meeting up with a friend who says, “Hey, let’s grab a cup of coffee sometime?” because I know the coffee part is irrelevant 96% of the time. It’s about the person sitting across the table, coffee lover or not.  

P.S. – No coffee was photographed in the picture above. In fact, it’s a delicious hot cup of cocoa from adventures in a Parisian café – bon appetite!