The project
Downloads:
1. Summary Findings Sheet .
2. Full Project Report
3. Text only Research Report (5,000 words)
4. Appendix 1 - Principal Sources
5. Appendix 2 - Dissemination
6. Appendix 3 - Impacts
Summary and Method
The project traced the history of Italian
style coffee drinks from the evolution of espresso in the 1900s through to the
global popularity of cappuccino and caffè latte today. This success was explained by the properties
of the beverages themselves, the surroundings in which they were served, and
the meanings constructed around them. By reconstructing the ‘commodity
biography’ of espresso, the project demonstrated how innovations in production
and preparation (e.g. beverage sizes) interacted with changes in social practices
and perceptions within consumer societies (e.g. the image of Italy) to create a diversity of
local cultures of consumption.
Research was carried out in Hungary Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
UK and USA using a wide variety of
materials including adverts, archives, cultural products (novels, film), the
trade press, newspapers, photographs and printed sources. Particular emphasis was placed on the use of
in-depth oral history interviews with representatives of over 70 companies and
institutions throughout the coffee industry.
Results
The emergence of a distinctive,
Italian-style of coffee drinking dates to 1905 when Pavoni began manufacturing
the Ideale coffee machine in Milan. This produced a beverage known as espresso as
it was prepared ‘expressly’ for the individual customer by using steam to
‘express’ hot water through the coffee. The process was transformed by the
Gaggia Classica machine of 1948 which used a hand operated piston to drive the
water through the coffee under 9 atmospheres of pressure producing a new,
shorter, beverage topped by a crema of essential oils that was initially
marketed as crema caffè - cream coffee.
A period of intensive technological innovation culminated in the
appearance of the Faema E61 in 1960, a semi-automatic machine incorporating an
electric pump operated by a simple switch.
This coincided with Italy’s transition to a mass
consumer society. The number of bars
rose rapidly as they provided centres for socialising for the new urban
population. Coffee was popular as its price was controlled by the local
authorities, while crema caffè could not be made in the home. Branded coffee conquered the domestic market
as new channels for distribution (supermarkets) and marketing (television)
became available. The shift from using
Latin American cartoon coffee beans to endorsements by Italian celebrities in
Lavazza’s advertising campaigns symbolised the domestication of coffee’s image
during the 1970s. The ‘away from home’ industry remains highly fragmented,
however, with local roasters supplying independent bars with blends that
reflect regional tastes.
It was the Gaggia’s milk frothing power
which impressed English speaking countries in the 1950s. Cappuccino conquered
these markets as it was more accessible to consumers used to combining coffee
with milk, while its exotic appearance adding to its perceived value. In the UK,
coffee bars were a refuge for the young who felt culturally excluded from pubs
while in Australia,
they were given impetus by the bans on drinking after 6:00pm. Many of the
agents involved in these transfers were not drawn from the Italian diaspora
community, despite its heavy involvement in catering. This was because it mainly served the more
conservative working classes. In the UK
workers overwhelmingly drunk tea, making it uneconomic to install genuine
coffee machines in many of the Italian-run cafes..
In the US, Italian coffee bars were
similarly downmarket venues - something that partly explained their appeal to
‘alternative’ subcultures. The 1980s,
however, saw the spread of a ‘speciality’ coffee movement that presented
Italian style coffees as hand-crafted artisan products. Intended to draw consumers into speciality
coffee, espresso-based beverages began outselling brewed coffee in the 1990s.
Caffè latte proved particularly popular with American palates due to its high
milk content. Italian coffee became a lifestyle accessory amongst the educated
upper middle classes, moving from takeaway carts into the coffee shop format
popularised by Starbucks. The
cleanliness, comfort and lack of alcohol gave these a very different ambience
from the old Italian-American coffee bars, one attractive to women, teenagers
and autonomous workers. The format was
successfully exported to middle class, younger consumers in the developing
Asian economies.
In Europe, the early 1990s saw a more
continentally aware youth culture adopt espresso beverages as an element of
'Europeaness' (as is happening in Eastern Europe
today). Even in the UK, which was most receptive to the
American format, local branded chains have successfully competed against
Starbucks by stressing their ‘Italianess’.
British coffee culture is distinctive in that most consumption takes
place on the premises, usually in conjunction with a social encounter.
Inverting the trends of the 1950s, coffee shop usage has spread across the
generations, while a decline in drinking out has left pubs dependent on the
youth market.
In Italy, the globalisation of
espresso is often lamented as a missed opportunity with calls to introduce
trademarks for espresso and cappuccino.
However over 70% of commercial espresso machines are made in Italy,
while roasters have benefited from the growth of a substantial re-export market
since the mid-1990s. Controlled prices
and the emphasis on pure espresso consumption make Italy an unattractive market for
foreign coffee-shop chains.
The success of ‘Italian coffee’ is indicative of the adaptability and agency
of the beverages, combined with the ‘value’ created by the inability to
reproduce them at home. Espresso,
cappuccino and latte have each led a phase in the globalisation of Italian
coffee, and have proved capable of supporting a variety of meanings and values
inscribed upon them by local consumers.
Dissemination
This project was unusual in terms of its high level of engagement
with user communities and the general public.
Public events included a lecture combined with a coffee tasting, and two
public exhibitions. The project was
presented at 4 international coffee trade fairs, and 3 cultural associations,
while the Director made 8 media appearances and authored 9 articles in the
trade press.
The project organized a two day international
conference and 2 one-day international workshops. It was presented at 16
academic conferences and seminars. 4 academic articles have appeared in Italian
journals, and a journal theme issue was produced. Forthcoming publications will include an
edited volume and short monograph. A
project website was constructed at
www.cappuccinoconquests.org.uk
.
