a step back. a look forward.

Are rhetoric and coffee compatible? Where does on start and one end? Can one be engaging in rhetoric through the brewing of a singular cup of java? These were questions and ruminations that frequented my mind in the creative brainstorming stage of this project, as well as the initial stages.

In order to answer these questions, I simply boiled down the realm of coffee into a simple question. Besides a beverage, what is coffee? After some initial encounters, I have realized that coffee [included within is the coffee shop] is an art form, a skill, and an experience.

An art form – As I dove head first into this project, the more I saw coffee as an art. Often, coffee sparks creativity and creation with its caffeine properties. But even when a barista delivers an ordered drink, there is a certain artisanship required to produce the product. The extraction of foam and the implementation of design play a part in coffee. The coffee shop itself assembles furniture and trinkets that are appropriate for its atmosphere. Barista and coffee vendors dress and talk a certain way in order to fit the mold of the coffee world. Thus, the scenery and ambience of a place adds to the aesthetics of coffee itself. The scene of entering a coffee shop, admiring the decorated space, and ordering the created coffee lends an opportunity to take a photograph. The art speaks rhetorically to the coffee consumer, displaying the attraction of coffee.

A skill – When talking about the required technique to brew coffee, there is no question that baristas and coffee connoisseurs have refined an interesting skill. After a few moments, I quickly realized how many intricate ways there are to constructcoffee. Everything, from the typical drip to the espresso concoctions, to the vacuum brew, requires a unique knowledge and mastery. And as a novice to the world of coffee, I attain none of these techniques. Yet, rhetoric plays a part in the watching of technique. By observing a trained individual participate in the art of coffee, a viewer is beckoned to be amazed at the careful calculations, as well as the creativity involved in producing a drink. As I saw my drink being made, the technique of the barista spoke to me, rhetorically.

An experience – The entire event of entering the shop, ordering, drinking the coffee, and studying rhetorically speaks to the patron. Every shop that I have visited so far has given me a completely different vibe. Where one store may be very formal, another may be comfortable. The experience holistically speaks to the patron. The art in the coffee shop, the technique of the barista, the study space all leaves a sense of pleasure and excitement to the visitor. However, the beauty of the coffee rhetoric is that it is personally individualized to each customer. What I may have experienced one day may be altogether different the next day. Thus, rhetoric in each individual aspect of coffee plays to the greater rhetoric of coffee.