Full of beans

The proliferation of coffee shops has changed the whole streetscene and shopping experience in UK towns and cities.

Go back just 20 years and the choices available to get a cuppa were either 1)of the 'Copper Kettle' type mixing white lace edged table cloths and antiques/objects of art,2) the archetypal transport cafe or greasy spoon and 3) a restaurant area of a Department Store. Such places were semi-formal even amongst overall or dungaree clad lorry drivers and tradespersons. There was a certain etiquette for each. Copper kettlers were usually of a mature type and disposition, smartly dressed and perpetuating the rituals and social standing of drinking tea rather than coffee. A visit was an event. Transport Caffers were vocational when it came to the partaking of refreshments. Get in and out quick and with any tea stains being worn as a badge of honour and pride amongst the industrious. The Department Stores catered for high levels of footfalls with rapid service and fairly bleak surroundings which did not encourage lingering over the food and drink on offer.

Tea was dominant as the drink of the masses. Coffee was regarded with suspicion as if an alien beverage, a more exotic choice only really becoming accepted if seen to be the norm when Brits holidayed abroad or assumed it's mystique as potrayed on TV and in the movies. There has been a massive cultural shift in the attitude towards coffee drinking. From being regarded as an after meal feature or a matter of foreplay as in 'did you want to come in for a coffee' it is now a throwaway comfort item or if carried around in a paper cup, an advertisement that you can multi-task, work and play at the same time.

Coffee shops have also developed and attached themselves to other aspects of consumerism. I am not that keen on the blending of Costa Coffee and Waterstones Bookshops. There is trouble brewing in combining internet cafes and furtive coffee drinkers. Emphasising community and charity is a Corporate directive for many of the large chains. There are of course merits in promoting Fairtrade products and Charitable endeavours but a tediousness in putting up childrens pictures, exchanging paperback books and dumping used coffee grounds on budding gardeners. Whatever the style and attraction of the many coffee shops there is obviously a role that they perform, filling a gap in some lives.

Me and the boy have started to attend regularly at St Arbucks. For many years we have drifted about between similar places but have not been able to settle or feel at peace in our surroundings. It has been a difficult process with much soul searching about being in the right place and amongst like minded people. We do like the informal service which comes with a friendly welcome and smile. The atmosphere is very cosmopolitan and you do get a real cross section of the population which adds to the interest. This is in direct contrast to a few similar places that we have tried. We are now on familiar terms with the thursday afternoon barrista's so much so that I was allowed the facility of a credit when the card reader broke down. They trusted me and even the sunday staff whom I had never met treated me as a long lost friend when I called by to pay the debt.

The main outlets and franchises are gearing up for a larger presence in the High Streets and shopping malls. Buying a coffee and a pastry may have become the new form of self pampering in an otherwise depressed and recessionary economy. Perhaps the coffee shops will become the speakeasy's of our modern age and from the comfort of sofa's and high stools we will rally forth, cups and insulated cup holders in hands to storm the citadel, or just get something choccy and cinnamon to go...