Coffee and Writers, a Marriage of Love

Writers and Their Love of Coffee and Coffeehouses

What is it about sitting in a coffee shop, drinking the hard stuff, black, full-bodied, aromatic coffee that draws writers and their laptops like little kids to a mud puddle?

Caffeine and creativity flow forth in a steady supply.

Entire novels have been written while the author sits in a stiff, uncomfortable chair at a table the size of trash can lid. Why go there instead of spreading your materials out on your writing desk at home with all your resource material and research right at hand? Why sit in the small wooden chair when you have a padded, wheeled, set to the exact right height office chair at home?

Then there are the other customers. How distracted are you by whining toddlers, loud get to goers, and those undecided customers who ask twenty questions and need each drink type explained. Of course they follow that with detailed instructions on the proper amount of whipped cream to top their sweet, high fat, wanna-be frozen drink. Naming some of those concoctions is outright lying. Andy why, why do mothers buy each of their brood under the age of ten a different flavor fruit smoothie. Do they really think a four year old can taste the difference between raspberry-strawberry and blackberry/strawberry?

Perhaps the worse offenders to true coffee people are the tea drinkers. A pot of tea? Really, it’s a COFFEE shop.

How can you tell the quality and judge the class of your favorite haunt? Not by the patrons, but by the price of the bags of coffee beans with the fancy labels. If your shop is charging more than twelve dollars for their house blend, you’ve found yourself a nice place. If they serve your black coffee in a tall, glass mug and give you free ice water, you want to get there early to get a seat. And the high caloric, heart-killing pastries and other goodies should be of ridiculous price and so heavy in your stomach as to keep your butt firmly anchored to that unforgiving, narrow seat. This then, is a first rate café.

The modern author must also create their art in a modern facility with free internet access so one might post on their blog or others, keep up with the gossip and announcements on promotion groups and of course track sales, answer emails and the myriad of demands of the wireless age.

The intent of this article is not sarcasm. All these things combine to create an ambiance congruent with the dream of many writers. Sitting in a coffee shop, sipping coffee made by someone else and your mind sending your fingers flying over the keyboard. I found one such place. The brew is divine, the atmosphere relaxed and the smell of the books adjacent to the café lingers in the air. It really works to sit there and let the words flow. I know many writers hold other jobs, but if you get even one chance a week, one chance a month, spend a few hours sniffing the beans.

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