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C Illustration / HANA Liu

F or millennia, humans have enjoyed using al-
cohol as a social lubricant. The reasons seem
obvious at first. Most of us have had a drink
or two that’s put us at ease, helped us lose our
inhibitions, lifted our mood. And yet, literally for decades
through the last century, psychologists and other scientists
struggled to find evidence for what they termed the “tension
reduction theory” that proposed alcohol was rewarding be-
cause of its relaxing, mood-enhancing effects. In the lab,
alcohol often had no effect or even made people feel worse.
In any case, luckily today younger generation drinks less and
less and uses other social drinks alternatives, such as coffee,
bubble teas and juices. The research company Mintel backs
up these findings through its recent research into no and
low-alcohol beers. Mintel’s research shows that the vast
majority of young people do not see or experience any stig-
ma or negative peer pressure with regards to drinking no, or
low alcohol, beverages when out with friends. Alcohol is
simply not as important to social lives as it was in the past.
New social drink

Hanging out in a café now is a normal thing for so many
people all around the world. In some countries, like South
Korea, coffee shops even became the third place, where you
spent most of your time after your home and office. And this
social aspect of gathering and enjoying coffee together cannot
be denied. Unfortunately, 2020 and 2021 were not exactly the
years of social gatherings due to the world pandemic.
Many countries have different restrictions to provide the
best and safest experience to their coffee lovers, but the fact is
those restrictions- as the results of the virus- do harm business:
for example, nearly half of the 40 European countries identified
in the latest Allegra World Coffee Portal market report saw a
decline in the number of coffee shops over the past year due to
COVID-19. The year also saw dramatic slumps in coffee shop
sales throughout Europe, by about 30%.
Coffee is usually preferred to be enjoyed in-doors: in
coffee shops, homes, cafés, canteens etc., but with recent
events in the world and the summer coming, drinking coffee
outside of familiar places might be something we should pay
a closer attention to as it offers high mobility, freshness and
comfort, especially when it is something fun like a whole
coffee festival. We talked with 4 coffee festival organizers
from different parts of the world to see how their cities
adapt to new reality and welcome summer with a
fresh brew.

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