Is Coffee Becoming the Social "Hard Currency" for Young People?

One day you're living happily on American time, the next day you're being beaten down by work. Sitting in front of your screen, you probably haven't recovered the next day, and going back to work after the holiday naturally makes you wonder if you're living in a dream. To truly and thoroughly come back to life, coffee has become an essential awakening tool.

Holding a cup of coffee has become one of the daily tasks for office workers. The rise of "Coffee in the morning, Alcohol at night" has made young people's bodies flow with coffee and alcohol, willingly becoming members of the atmosphere in cafés and bars. Coffee serves as the startup key for daytime work, while alcohol acts as the shutdown key for nighttime relaxation. Both have deeply penetrated young people's lives.

The Rise of Coffee Culture in China

As one of the giants in the coffee industry—Starbucks opened its first store in China in 1999, and a cup of coffee priced at over 30 yuan became the unquestionable choice for urban elites to display their status. With the popularization of coffee throughout China, the number of cafés has also sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

The word "coffee" is enthusiastically used on various popular online platforms. On Xiaohongshu, entering the word "coffee" reveals over 8.49 million posts, with content ranging from café explorations to homemade coffee—coffee topics are numerous and comprehensive. On the Douban platform, there are many discussion groups related to "coffee." Among them, the group "Did you drink coffee today?" with the most members has over 140,000 members, and content is shared almost every minute within the discussion group.

Coffee as Social Currency

With the emergence of various coffee brands and coffee products, young people order and check in, leaving their thoughts on online platforms. "This brand's coffee tastes good," "That brand's coffee beans are fragrant"—some netizens with similar ideas organize their own small groups, becoming fan clubs for certain coffee brands.

"Refreshment" was the initial reason young people chose coffee: late-night study sessions, early morning classes. When the brain was nearly "crashed," coffee's quick awakening effect naturally made it the first choice.

However, with the popularization of coffee, it seems to be no longer limited to "refreshment"—coffee also possesses an important "social" function. Similar to "bubble tea socializing," a "Want to grab coffee?" message in work groups starts "coffee time," becoming one of the periods when office workers can "legally slack off." Some office workers, in order to keep up with everyone and integrate into their colleagues' circles, have no choice but to join in buying and drinking coffee.

The arrival of the pandemic couldn't stop coffee from breaking through regional lockdowns, and drinking coffee became a way for neighbors to share and communicate. During Shanghai's community lockdowns due to the pandemic, a resident in a grocery shopping group lamented: "What's wrong with the world? There's no coffee." Consequently, neighbors responded one after another, sharing their coffee "stockpiles" and giving away coffee for free.

The Evolution of Coffee Spaces

Additionally, coffee shops possess social attributes. What people who go to coffee shops want might be to communicate with people who share the same interests in one place. For example, meeting online friends in person for the first time, or chatting and reminiscing with friends they haven't seen for a long time. More and more cafés are no longer focusing on selecting locations in business districts and office buildings, but rather on streets with more living atmosphere, becoming cafés with community attributes, integrating and interacting with the entire neighborhood.

The mission of this life-saving water is no longer just to refresh the mind, but to bear the role of social hard currency. So, have you taken your colleagues to slack off today?

Image source: Internet

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