All posts filed under: Coffee Culture

5 Posts to Celebrate National Coffee Day

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It’s National Coffee Day, which means you can pick up freebies to sip that will pair perfectly with these coffee themed posts: 1. American Coffee Culture in 1872: So Different from Today? Start off with a taste of coffee history and ponder how coffee transformed into the United States’ national beverage and a potent patriotic symbol. 2. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee: A Site and Source of Bostonian Identity Even During a Lockdown. During the manhunt and city-wide lockdown following the Boston Marathon bombing, Dunkin’ Donuts remained open to serve police officers and first responders. This piece, published in The Inquisitive Eater, considers the deep meaning of the coffee chain in New England. 3. The Dunkin’ Donuts Origin Story: A Meaningful Beginning. This piece covers a brief history of one of New England’s favorite chains. 4. When Theory Actually Applies: Starbucks is to Bourdieu as Dunkin’ Donuts is to Foucault. This post conducts a comparative cultural analysis of the two chains, which are I argue align with opposing theoretical frameworks. 5. Imagining the Dunkin’ Donuts Identity Outside of New England. Considering coffee consumption as an expression of identity, …

Boston Strong: What’s Dunkin’ Donuts Got To Do With It?

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When I blogged last week, I was obviously looking forward to the Boston Marathon—to the day when nearly the entire city hits the streets to cheer on the elite and the amateur, as we all celebrate Patriots’ Day on our feet. Instead, last week was a harrowing series of days for Bostonians, every one of us linked in someway to someone who was hurt or killed. As a city we mourned, but by Friday, as a city we celebrated—though those lost will never be forgotten. During the manhunt that transpired on Friday, April 19, it was reported by BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post that Dunkin’ Donuts stores remained open during the city-wide lockdown to serve police officers and first responders. Having researched Dunkin’ Donuts coffee culture previously and powerfully aware of its meaning to Bostonians, I quickly wrote an essay on the open doors of Dunkin’ Donuts, serving as a caffeine and sugar-fueled heart of the city. I’m very excited that it was published this morning by The Inquisitive Eater, an online food journal published …

Imagining the Dunkin’ Donuts Identity Outside of New England

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Today I conclude my January 2013 blogging and this series of four posts, each covering sections from my paper, “Dunkin’ Donuts: A Site and Source of Bostonian Identity.” Here you can find posts one, two, and three.  In the global marketplace, Dunkin’ Donuts provides a unique case study of coffee consumption as an expression of identity, particularly in opposition to Starbucks, which has so powerfully shaped coffee culture worldwide. While the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee identity is uniquely salient in Boston and New England, the role and meaning of Dunkin’ Donuts also carries weight in other U.S. cities and in the international market, providing areas for further research. For example, a study that identified devout Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks drinkers as “tribes” was conducted in cities outside of New England, in Phoenix, Chicago, and Charlotte. While the specific reasons for brand loyalty may vary in each city, Dunkin’ Donuts marketing strategies target some of the same cultural components that they do in New England. For example, the Dunkin’ Donuts brand is repeatedly linked to sports mania wherever possible, …

When Theory Actually Applies: Starbucks is to Bourdieu as Dunkin’ Donuts is to Foucault

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Dedicated to joyous cups of joe in this (ever colder!) month of January, what follows is the third of four posts, which cover sections from my paper, “Dunkin’ Donuts: A Site and Source of Bostonian Identity.” Here you can find posts one and two.  In a Washington Post article comparing an existing Starbucks store to a newly opened Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the same area, the authors vividly reveal the opposing coffee cultures of each chain, saying, “Medium vs. grande. Good, quick and hot vs. Colombia Nariño Supremo. Metal frame chairs vs. comfy couches.” These catchy comparisons reveal the differing cultural frameworks of the two chains, which are I argue align with opposing theoretical frameworks. Starbucks sells a culture of aesthetics and coffee as a lifestyle, which aligns with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social status and distinction. Bourdieu contends that members of higher social classes possess the resources and opportunities to secure greater economic, social, and cultural capital than the classes beneath them. This acquisition of capital thus informs their development of taste and preferences, as …

Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee: A Site and Source of Bostonian Identity

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It’s January 7, which means that many folks must excitedly or begrudgingly head back to work after a wintery escape that began just before Christmas. This day requires a little extra courage and motivation, which might be found in a cup of coffee. If you’re like the 50 percent of Americans who buys coffee at work, I invite you to sip and enjoy this first section from my paper, “Dunkin’ Donuts: A Site and Source of Bostonian Identity.” The landscape of New England is marked by not only world-famous fall foliage and monuments to America’s history, but also the abundant pink and orange signs of Dunkin’ Donuts, which despite being an international franchise, is a powerful symbol and source of regional pride and identity. Writing as a local, Mike Miliard links Dunkin’ Donuts with Bostonian identity in his Boston Phoenix article, “Choosing Our Religion: How One Little Post-War Doughnut Shop Became Synonymous with Boston’s Identity,” as he says, “It’s a lynchpin of our identity. It’s a religion. It’s a cult. People in these parts freaking …

American Coffee Culture in 1872: So Different from Today?

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Since the seventeenth century, Americans have roasted, steamed, and boiled coffee, causing its gradual transformation into our national beverage and a potent patriotic symbol. In his 1872 text, Coffee: Its History, Cultivation, and Use, (read it for free on Google Books) Robert Hewitt Jr. captured the historical prominence of coffee in the United States, saying, “Since cotton has been proclaimed ‘king’ in the realm of commerce, coffee should be styled ‘queen’ among the beverages of domestic life” (Hewitt 1872: 11). Coffee has since risen from its status of queen of the domestic realm and emerged as a leading global commodity, second only to petroleum oil (Pendergrast 1999: 1). Coffee thus exerts considerable political and economic power. The United States has led world coffee consumption for the past two hundred years (Tucker 2011:18). Coffee plays multiple social and cultural roles within American daily life as a beverage consumed upon waking, shared in social settings, enjoyed at the end of a meal, savored during the workday coffee break, and so on. In his historical text, Hewitt depicts …