Coffee pots are indeed enablers for the use of language and the creation of connections between people. It provides opportunities daily for people to meet others. In stores where coffee is purchased, cafés, offices or even individual homes people connect over and through the consumption of this legal drug.
I can't think of a single instance where two people meet over a pot of coffee and don't talk, write, read, surf the internet, or use language in some form. Yeah, I'm just going to pour myself a coffee, stand here, drink it and say absolutely nothing to you... not likely.
Coffee shop regulars say, "Hi." to each other as they wait in line and forge relationships with local baristas, exchanging comments about the weather, fashions, personal information and complaints about the day, often coming to know each other by name. Others meet at tables and exchange life stories over cups of this rich brown liquid.
I walked into the coffee shop today and on one table were 8 napkins featuring calligraphy, square diagrams and doodles, spread out artistically amid two empty cups. Words such as hallway, books, arrows, and lists of items, reminded me of organizing house and spoke eloquently of the conversation which must have taken place. I reached for my pockets and realized I didn't have my phone, camera or any other means than memory to record this fabulous example of art, language and coffee.
In fact, the vast impact of coffee on language and real life connections is greater than the local markets. This is apparent through ventures such as organic fair trade coffee and the resultant sharing of knowledge, lifestyle, culture and the investment in the livelihood of families in different parts of the world, potentially changing our worldview.
Coffee is such part of everyday life, I contemplate how many books are owed to this legal drug keeping us awake through hours of edits. And as I drink my next cupa and prepare to write I wonder where its smooth brown treasure will take me.
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