Why are we obsessed with coffee? (Is it the caffeine kick?)

A coffee shop is never just about a good cup of coffee. Many people go to coffee shops as a place to do work. The environment is also known to be a good place to do reflective thinking.

Some people prefer to have meetings in convenient cafes. Corporate workers use the coffee shop as a break from their stressful day. For many of us, our mornings aren’t complete without a cup or two to get us fueled.

Some people, after waking up, reach for a cup before doing anything else. Simply, many of us are obsessed with coffee. And, of course, there’s always the afternoon pick-me-up. But why are we obsessed? Is it the flavor, the caffeine kick?

The popularity of café culture was further cemented by the emergence of the digital age, when laptops, mobile phones, and later tablets, freed some workers from their desks.

As the recession hit and stripped the high street of retail shops, cafes filled the gaps. By installing Wi-Fi, cafes established themselves as an alternative place to socialize and work.

This was combined with a demand for breakfasts on the go from commuters, the closure of pubs, and the emergency of foodie culture.

To emphasize value, quality, and image, the consumer needed to be made more aware of what made coffee worth the price.

And so, the specialty coffee was born. The vision was a type of coffee to appeal to every person, including flavored coffees for the "soft drink generation". Coffee for the aficionados, the penny-counters, those on-the-go, and certainly the senior community who were already strong supporters.

Coffee was meant to look into every aspect of life, and thanks to the response of growers and retailers it did.

Smaller roasters marketing individual brands found a niche and consumers complaining about paying $3/lb. For tasteless coffee were more than willing to purchase specialty coffees for the additional dollar or two more in cost.

The movement toward specialty coffees was taken up by small roasters. While bigger brands followed, such as Starbucks, Costa, and Café Nero, the size of smaller brands initially helped them establish credibility with the specialty coffee crowd.

They weren't seen as mass producers, they were viewed as having a closer relationship to the coffees they were trying to sell, and as such could produce a more flavorful coffee experience.