SOCIOCULTURAL VIEW OF COFFEE IN ITALIAN AND SERBIAN EVERYDAY LIFE

Text topic: Quotidian

Text author: Александра Блатешић и Тамара Станић

Nowadays, foods exclusively intended for indulgence are so often included in the basic human diet. Thus, we are so attached to them that they have become part of our everyday life, recognizable in the culture and the society surrounding us. Coffee is one of those foodstuffs: a drink known as “black gold”, which had to travel a long way in space and time to be in our warm cups today. Coffee, however, is much more than an ordinary drink that satisfies our senses of smell and taste. It has eventually become a true socio-cultural phenomenon which has acquired specific characteristics and has shaped norms of behaviour in different societies. In this paper we will present the significance and the influence of coffee on the culture of contemporary societies in Italy and Serbia, as well as on the formation of significantly different customs and rituals associated with coffee drinking. The aim of this paper is to point out potential cultural disagreements that could arise between members of these two nations due to the different historical development of the coffee culture that has led to emergence of different customs.