The Rising Asian Coffee Culture
Coffee and coffee drinking may have originated in other countries, but sure enough, Asia is steadily catching up with the hype. Sure enough, countries like China, Indonesia, and the Philippines are among the biggest coffee consumers in Asia.
In China alone, one third of the adult population consume coffee in coffee shops like Starbucks. As like the rest of the world, Asian coffee shops are frequented for hanging out with friends more than for the coffee itself.
Asian coffee preferences
Although Asian people are more inclined to drinking tea more than coffee, the fast spread of popular coffee shops like Starbucks are drawing more and more coffee drinkers amongst the Asian populace.
In terms of coffee preferences, Asians are known to prefer a lighter, sweeter coffee than Westerners. In Hone Kong, for example, cappuccino leads the race with 30% of coffee drinkers ordering this outside the home. Mocha comes a close second with 25% of the java junkies ordering it. In 3rd place is regular coffee, which is the choice of 17% of coffee drinkers in Hong Kong.
Local vs. Global
When asked whether which coffee shops they prefer to patronize, most Asians are quick to answer they prefer to go with global brands like Starbucks than to get their coffee fill from local coffee shops. And apparently, most Asians think that coffee made from international coffee chains are better than the ones made by local stores. But again, this isn’t always the case in all Asian countries. Some would still prefer to buy from local sellers than buy from foreign shops.
In the Philippines, lots of people go to Starbucks or Seattle’s Best for their daily pick me upper. Like what I said in a previous blog entry, children here have the wrong notion of buying coffee from Starbucks just because it is how celebrities take coffee.
Just how did the Asian coffee culture start?
Well, you can say that the growing coffee culture in Asia was partly started by people who brought their coffee habits back from any European or American city they came from. I guess it didn’t take long for other people to pick up on the habit.
Also, with more and more job opportunities opening up on the graveyard shift in most parts of Asia, it can’t be helped that these people would start consuming more coffee to keep themselves awake in the middle of the night.
Instant coffee or brewed coffee?
A lot of Asians enjoy the taste of brewed coffee, but most of them make do with instant coffee. Although more and more coffee shops are opening all over Asia, the fact that brewed coffee is quite expensive, and owning a coffee brewing machine isn’t all that affordable, makes people go for the more budget-friendly which is instant coffee.
Coffee has certainly found a way into the hearts of people all over the globe. We may have different reasons for wanting to drink coffee, but surely enough, it’s fast becoming a staple drink everywhere.
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