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Coffee culture has grown exponentially in the United States. About a century ago, if you didn’t brew your coffee at home about the only place to get a fresh, steaming cup of java while out and about was to have a seat at a diner or a restaurant. Around the mid-century, coffee shops started to dot city and suburban landscapes (the term “coffee shop” usually meant more of a family style restaurant; today “coffee shop” and “coffee house” are often used interchangeably).
The beatnik movement helped give coffee a hip status as creative artists and analytical thinkers gathered around the beverage at coffee houses. During the1960s, Milwaukee had a few counterculture hangouts, like The Avant Garde Coffeehouse that operated on Prospect Avenue from 1962 through 1968, and The Coffee House, an esteemed performance venue that still operates today on 19th and Wisconsin. The Coffee House celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.
The socially conscious beat dwellers of the coffee houses considered things like where our consumables come from, thus beginning a quest for fairly traded and better-quality coffee. During the 1970s, the demand for to-go coffee grew, as chains like McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts conveniently offered coffee for those on the run. Whether it was good coffee or just so-so, or served in a mug or a disposable cup, people wanted coffee and lots of it, setting the stage for coffee’s third wave.
Craft Beverage Jobs, a career resource that connects people to jobs in beer, wine, spirits, coffee and artisan beverage businesses, describes coffee’s third wave as, “the current movement within specialty coffee that appreciates coffee as an artisan or craft beverage. Coffee, in all of its processes, from the origin of the harvested bean to the roasting and brewing process, is treated with the same reverence as fine wine and craft beer.”
Judging by the abundance of coffee houses in Milwaukee today, it seems that we have fared well in keeping up with the rest of the country’s third wave of coffee, especially since the 1990s. Scott Schwebel, vice president of marketing for Colectivo Coffee, one of the area’s coffee pioneers (which began as Alterra in 1993), said that Milwaukee has always been a leader in the coffee scene. “It was always surprising to us how far we were ahead of other cities with coffee culture,” he said. “Chicago, New York, L.A., to name a few, were all late to the game compared to Milwaukee. But for us, the objective is still the same as when we started: to give people an opportunity to come together, provide them with great product, and to try to do your best work. Nothing has changed for us, neither has the expectation of the customers.”
According to Drew Pond, managing director of Stone Creek Coffee, there wasn't much of a Milwaukee coffee culture in 1993, when Stone Creek also formed. “Back then, Starbucks hadn't exploded into the juggernaut it is now,” he said. “They didn't even have a café in Milwaukee at that time. Now it's hard to drive through a neighborhood without passing both a Starbucks and one of the cafes of a local coffee roasting company.” He added that local tastes are as diverse as the people of our great city. “The popular items vary from cafe to café, even under the Stone Creek Coffee brand. Different neighborhoods and demographics look for different environments and product sets. The taste preferences of Milwaukee are impossible to put in a box.”
He also said people who work in the specialty coffee industry are often blown away by the maturity of Milwaukee's coffee scene while visiting the city. “We have several good-sized, well-established local coffee roasters. That's really rare for a city of our size. We are also starting to see more and more innovation about what coffee and the local coffee shop can be within our city. If you love coffee, then there may not be a better city in the Midwest in which to live.”
What do you think of Milwaukee’s coffee scene today? What, if any, changes have you observed?
