For a while (well, since buying an espresso machine) I have wondered why drinking coffee appears intrinsically linked with computers, technology and ‘geekdom’ more than tea.
My original theory was:

1. Coffee keeps you awake. Long hours are often ‘de rigeur’ for programmers and the like.
2. Computers etc. developed in the US. Americans drink a lot of coffee.

Not the best theory but a start.

Thinking (and an a article I found & lost) resulted in theory 2:

1. Said people are often perfectionists, the making of coffee [in particular Espresso based] is something that can be perfected. Starting from scratch you can control the roasting, grind, quantity, tamping, water temperature & pressure and shot duration.

Today from Smartmobs, I found this interesting article on the development of the European coffee house from 1650 onwards.

“[...]Rumours, news and gossip were also carried between coffee-houses by their patrons, and sometimes runners would flit from one coffee-house to another within a particular city to report major events such as the outbreak of a war or the death of a head of state. Coffee-houses were centres of scientific education, literary and philosophical speculation, commercial innovation and, sometimes, political fermentation. Collectively, Europe’s interconnected web of coffee-houses formed the internet of the Enlightenment era[...]”

(This was also mentioned in a program about Robert Hooke (of Hooke’s law fame, also architect, astronomer, biologist, engineer etc…) that was on BBC2 a few days ago).

Perhaps it is just that coffee has historically been the drink consumed to sharpen the mind, whereas as tea is associated with more relaxed times.

Posted in Technology,Thinking | 0 Comments