There are many reasons coffee has become deeply ingrained in our society. Of course, as a beverage it tastes wonderful, but the popularity of specialty coffee runs much deeper than that. It is very easy for most Americans to buy great beans, purchase wonderful brewing devices and prepare coffee each morning at home in a matter of minutes. Why then to coffee drinkers go to a coffeehouse and pay two to three dollars for something they can prepare at home for a fraction of the cost? The answer isn't found in chemistry or physics books that explain proper brewing principles; it's found in the textbooks of sociology and psychology.

In his book, The Great Good Place: Caf?es, Bookstores, Bars, Coffee shops, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of Community, sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the phrase the "third place," which he defines as somewhere people congregate to find a sense of community outside of the home and workplace. By nature, humans need places where they can meet friends or take solace in the familiarity of other people and their surroundings.

In America, bars serving alcohol have historically been the primary third place. From the saloons we see in early television westerns to modern-day hip watering holes, bars were once the only option for people to meet and socialize. The problem with bars for many people is alcohol. Not everyone wants to achieve an altered state of mind, and the stigma surrounding this third-place option has gown with the enactment of stricter drunk-driving laws and concerns about the potential health risks of alcohol.
   
It's Not About the Coffee; It's About the Break
In the early years of this industry, Roger Sandon, founder and publisher of Café Ole Magazine, said to me, "It's not about the coffee...it's about the break." Another Seattle friend and coffee bar owner, Italian-born Mauro Cipolla, has echoed the same sentiment to me. Cipolla asserts that while the coffee in Italy is excellent, the reason there are more than 200,000 coffee bars in Italy is because they provide a place to meet friends and neighbors. These small bars on nearly every corner are where you learn your close friend's wife is pregnant, someone's uncle is ill or the score of last night's soccer match.

North America is finally catching on to Europe's' well-established third place culture. In the past 10 years, coffee establishments have played a major role in satisfying the inner need of Americans for a third sanctuary. A good friend of mine who moved to a bedroom community in Seattle told me more about how thrilled she was with the local coffee bar on the corner than she was with the beautiful apartment shed lived in with a view of Lake Washington. Each time I called her, she talked more about the coffee hangout she had found than any other part of her life. She told me about a group of people who met there each morning before work, and she told me that she now spends hours socializing with the group almost every Saturday and Sunday morning. This is a woman who is involved in the coffee industry and can brew a great cup a home, but within the confines of her kitchen, she cannot brew the friendship or fulfill the need we all have as humans to share and interact with others.

Your coffee establishment has a much better chance than a chain operation of becoming your neighborhood's-or even your city's-third place. You know your community and the people who live there. You understand what they want and you can fulfill their needs better than an operation that was conceived in some Manhattan high rise.

From the Bonfire to the Modern-Day Coffee Bar
As we enter this new century, I believe we are only seeing the beginning of specialty coffee's influence on society. Many experts have predicted that the industry will soon reach its saturation point' I believe this is far from true.

Attendance at coffee trade shows is breaking records. Companies within the industry are experiencing record growth. Coffee establishments serving as third places are opening by the hundreds each day. But a great cup of coffee is only part of the reason. It is the human need for contact that drives this industry. Anthropologist who studies our culture in the future will discover that coffee bars met the needs of 21st-centry people in the same way bonfires served the cave dwellers who gathered at night thousands of years ago.