Cafes are a central feature of our society and provide an important venue for social connection.
They come in all sizes, shapes and forms offering a diverse variety of coffees and food items.
Cafes here weren’t exactly abundant in the decades immediately following World War 2, but have proliferated considerably over the past 40 or so years.
The concept of cafe culture was still somewhat distant during my early years as a student at the University of Otago in the 1970s, with coffee in the students’ union cafe being rudimentary and hardly exotic.
However the general ambience and good company more than compensated for any deficiencies.
It provided an opportunity post-lectures for some lighthearted banter and a chance to reflect on the teaching styles and idiosyncracies of some of our professors and lecturers.
Cafes have become more important with the demise of many institutions and places that were once central in community activity, post offices and banks being examples where the advent of the internet and ongoing technological advances have altered their functions and where the public now has minimal direct contact.
The humble cafe though remains largely uneffected by these changes and is some what of a bastion of stability amidst the winds of change.
Cafe names can sometimes be confusing.
A few years ago a well-known Dunedin cafe changed its name to Insomnia.
I arranged to meet a colleague there but inadvertently referred to it as Amnesia.
Fortunately my companion noted the not so subtle difference.
On another occasion I was waiting at a cafe called Sugar but should have been at Mash — this confusion sparking some wry humour.
I understand Sugar continues to operate under another name but Mash has since closed down.
The names and range of coffees these days is impressive including lattes, long blacks, flat whites, cappuccinos, mochas and americanos.
Even the very young are catered for, with fluffys being particularly popular.
They consume these with remarkable skill and speed and minimal spillage.
A couple of marshmallows being an added attraction for them.
The young too are an important part of the nation’s coffee culture.
All generations and ages are catered for — young and old, happy and sad.
The lonely too as evidenced in the song Streets of London by Ralph McTell that includes these lyrics:
‘‘In the all night café
At a quarter past eleven
Same old man
Sitting there on his own
Looking at the world
Over the rim of his teacup
Each tea lasts an hour
And he wanders home alone’’
Cafes are wonderful venues for family, friends and relations to meet.
An opportunity to chat, exchange ideas, make plans or simply places to reflect and re-energise.
Their value for society cannot be underestimated.
• Joss Miller is a retired lawyer.
