Americans & their coffee- R's first lecture on entrepreneurship, free trade and doing what you love

It's rare that I talk too much about R's work because most of it is not all that interesting, and it's a bit grey as to what is cool to talk about on the internet and what's not ok when it comes to the issuance of US visas so it's easiest to avoid it all together. 

However last night R gave his first Public Affairs lecture. Each week the consulate hosts English lectures on different aspects of American culture. Can you guess what R chose to speak on? What else? COFFEE.

doesn't he look so... representative?

The title of his lecture was: "America's Coffee Culture: Why Americans Love Coffee." Starbucks has over 850 stores in mainland China and has decided to continue to expand their business here. While China is a tea culture through and through, coffee has a definite presence in China's cities.

The lecture drew the largest crowd yet with what I'm guessing was about 100 Chinese -mostly students, young adults and other community members. There was standing room only in the visa waiting room where the lecture took place.

It was probably the most relaxed I've ever seen R in front of crowd, partially because of the captive audience and partially because he was talking about a subject I would consider him an expert in. His presentation highlighted three main points that he thought particularly interesting for Chinese people.

First he spoke about the social functions of coffee and coffeehouses in America. He talked about how he got coffee when he was job hunting, reconnecting with old friends or taking me out on a date. He shared how coffee houses are neighborhood spots where community members inadvertently and purposefully cross paths.

full house

I loved thinking about all of the great coffee houses we've been to stateside- Octane on the Westside of Atlanta, Land of a thousand hills in Smyrna/Atlanta, Volta in downtown Gainesville, Jittery Joe's in Athens, Zoka in Greenlake Seattle, Rembrandts' in Chattanooga, Jude's in Bartlesville, even the French bakery & espresso shop (Cafe de Paris) in Indian Shores. Definitely something I miss about the US- Shenyang just doesn't really have that quirky neighborhood coffee shop that you can spend a whole afternoon in. Unless you count the 4 starbucks within walking distance of our apartment, and I don't. I wish we could have taken the lecture attendees on a tour of these great coffee houses so they had a real glimpse and TASTE of what R was talking about!

His second point was that America's love for coffee shows our strong sense of entrepreneurship. Americans characteristically love to strike out and create something new. The recent return to local and small business has fostered an environment in which people who are passionate about a service or product can invest their time and talents in their passion. Because American consumers value freedom of choice- excellent products can be offered and loyal customers will pay more because of the value. Coffee roasters, baristas and coffee-enthusiasts do seem a prime example of this since even the Starbucks empire was born out of humble beginnings.

He finished up his lecture discussing coffee from seed to cup, and the process beans go through to become coffee. I enjoyed this part of the lecture most because he emphasized the relationship between the farmer and consumer and the importance many Americans are placing on free trade and fair wages. One woman raised her hand and it was obvious from her comment that the role of the consumer (not the government) in encouraging a fair price for farmers and service providers had just dawned on her. I thought this was the most meaningful part of the lecture.

The attendees were thrilled when R passed around a bag of green coffee beans to study, and encouraged them to take a couple as a gift. He passed his stove-top roaster around the room as well and they were fascinated.

fascinated attendees inspect R's coffee roaster

I sat right behind a father and his, what I would guess, 15 year old daughter who were scribbling notes and asking questions the whole time. It was clear that she was already a coffee-lover and her dad was encouraging her enthusiasm. It was so much fun to see R transfer his passion for coffee to others a world away from where he first fell in love with it.

dad and daughter to the not pictures asking questions after the lecture

So I would call R's first foray into public speaking on behalf of the US government a rousing success!