The Austrians revolve around coffee. I know, I know. Most of you are thinking, “Yeah, join the club,” as you raise your Starbucks cup to your lips. But coffee in Austria is BIGGER than you can ever image. Let me explain.
The coffee way of life starts at an early age in Austria. The Austrians have what they call “Children’s Coffee.” It is served to a child of about eight years of age. A fourth of the cup is coffee, the rest is hot milk. As the child ages, the portion of coffee gets bigger, the obsession gets stronger, and before the poor kid even knows it, he/she is hooked for life. Don’t believe me? Check out the statistics:
* 92% of the Austrian population drinks coffee. Guess at what age range this statistic starts with: 14 years of age
* In Vienna alone, there are over 1,100 coffeehouses. Please note that Vienna has a population of about 1,670,000
*Austria has over 200 different types of coffee beans imported. Austria has a population of 6,000,000
In every guidebook that you read about Vienna, they all have a long excerpt concerning the coffeehouses and how the atmosphere is just indescribable. And it is. Every coffeehouse that I have ever been in is crowded at all hours of the day just filled to the brim with people! I make a reservation just to get in the door. Every type of person imaginable is sitting in a coffeehouse; young children, old ladies; preppy young couples, rough working men. The reason for this is that you get your one cup of coffee and stay in the coffeehouse for hours. The benches, chairs, or sofas are all comfortable and inviting. Delightful cakes and sweets are great companions to your coffee. If you happen to get hungry while you spend your entire afternoon at the coffeehouse, you can order little snacks to hold you over. Getting bored? Grab one of the free magazines or newspapers provided by the coffeehouse for your reading pleasure.
(Above photo of Cafe Central. One of the most beautiful coffeehouses in Vienna.)
(Above photo is a Sachertorte, the best cake ever! The Emporer and his family would have it every Sunday after church. The cake has a long and wonderful history that you can read about at http://www.sacher.com/en-history-tart.htm )
Needless to say, when Austrians want to get together on a social level, they say: “Let’s go get a cup of coffee.”
When Austrians are tired from walking around the city running errands, they say: “Let’s go get a cup of coffee.”
When Austrians want to do business outside of the office, they say: “Let’s go get a cup of coffee.”
When an Austrian stops by at a friends’ house, the first question is: “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
Since coffee and the coffeehouse is such a big part of life, every Austrian has a coffee machine in their home to try to recreate that warm, welcoming feeling. To not have one would be unthinkable! Of course, those wonderful coffee companies want to accommodate the Austrians in their obsession, and offer a wide range of coffee machines. Entire aisles are dedicated to just coffee machines in stores that are like Best Buy. I’m talking a wall of machines! Prices can range from €20 to €2,000 for a machine. The companies selling the really expensive machines have employees standing in the stores making sample coffee for anyone who passes by. Who needs Starbucks now, huh?
(Above image is a €1,500 coffee machine. Yikes!)
So obviously no addict, ah I mean Austrian, wants just the €20 coffee machine. And if you are going to ask a person to shell out a few hundred Euros for a machine, it better be fancy. We all know what happens with fancy machinery. It tends to stop doing what it’s supposed to be doing for confusing, unexplainable reasons. Forget a computer crashing; a coffee machine not working is a tragedy. I’ve seen this tragedy in action at my husband’s grandmother’s house. Grandma wrung her hands in despair, ran around wondering what to do. She called first one son to come over to figure the damn thing out, and then called the second son to figure the damn thing out. The kitchen was filled with people as everyone stood around trying to figure out why the coffee machine wasn’t working. I found it pretty funny as I watched the circus while sipping my tea.
What I find really interesting is that coffee is like a woman. It just doesn’t stay in the kitchen where it belongs. Just like a woman, its influence and power is too strong. When I go into a Home Depot like store, I can buy coffee. When I go to a gas station to tank up, there is a delightful little coffeehouse. When I read cookbooks and review measurement, a “coffee spoon” is used to describe the appropriate measurement needed.
Ah yes, coffee has its grip on the Austrians. It is definitely one of the most pleasurable aspects of my adopted country, even for one who is a tea drinker.
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