WHAT IS THE ROLE OF COFFEE IN INTERNET CULTURE?

+ How is coffee cul ture mani fested onl ine?

Whether it’s the first quiet sip in the morning or a fresh mug that says, “it’s time to get down to business”, the average Instagram or Tumblr user’s feed in filled with imagery of coffee time.

Coffee is often portrayed within the context of:

• a quiet moment; with a book or magazine, perhaps in the early morning, natural light.

• hard work; photographed with a notebook, Macbook, glasses, etc. Coffee is vital to the productivity pictured.

This kind of imagery may appeal to a female, mature-millennial group, both as the photographers and fans of this kind of imagery that depicts a quiet, creative, and beautiful life with the coffee drinker being him/her best self.

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C O F F E E I M A G E R Y & A E S T H E T I C S

DOCUMENTING COFFEE TIME

Image source: TheKinspiracy.Tumblr.com

Tumblr has seen growth in a group of dedicated students, referring to their blogs as “studyblrs”. They share study methods, homework playlists, and immaculately arranged study materials, usually accompanied by a laptop, colorful pens and highlighters, inspirational quotes, and coffee.

This trend in micro-blogging is lead by a younger audience (students in high school and college) who are drawn in by the bright visuals and motivation for becoming their best selves.

*Note: While this is not a trend lead by illy’s core target (Mature Millennials), it should be noted for their growth target (Young Millennials), who are in college and document their coffee online both as a mode of survival and a signal of “getting down to business” when it comes to studying. This is a similar kind of social photo sharing of coffee that mature millennials use but is manifested differently for the different target audience.

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C O F F E E I M A G E R Y & A E S T H E T I C S

THE RISE OF STUDYBLRS

Source: https://medium.com/bright/the-rise-of-studyblrs-8916998179f9#.14jseuvjh

Across a variety of social and content platforms, “morning hacks” seem to be more prevalent than ever. Examples:

• Medium.com: “Why Creating a Meaningful Morning Routine Will Make You More Successful.” , “How I Became a Morning Person – And Why I Decided to Make the Change.”

• Buzzfeed.com: “29 Morning Shortcuts That Will Save You Time”

• Huffington Post: “11 Morning Life Hacks to Make Things A Little Easier.”

• Pinterest: “21 Life Changing Morning Hacks”

• Spotify: Wake Up Happy playlist, Early Morning Rise playlist

In most of these examples, making a morning cup of coffee is at the top of the list. People take their morning routine seriously as culture leans towards trends of mindful living and holistic mind/body/soul wellness, with coffee playing an important role in this and subsequently, in how people share their morning routines and hacks online.

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M O R N I N G R O U T I N E S & H A C K S

LIFE HACKING: MORNINGS

Source: https://medium.com/bright/the-rise-of-studyblrs-8916998179f9#.14jseuvjh and CEB Health, Incorporated study: https://iconoculture.cebglobal.com/SMART/Content/View.aspx?contentid=410642

If you do a quick YouTube search for “Morning Routine”, you’ll find about 4.8 million video results. This popular video trend (led primary by females in their teens/young adulthood) highlights everything from making their bed, doing their makeup and hair, cooking breakfast, and making coffee.

The popularity of these videos (the top videos getting millions of views) demonstrates something aspirational mostly in a younger audience, similarly to Studyblrs on Tumblr, although some YouTubers who make this kind of content cater towards a more mature audience mostly because they, themselves, are in that age bracket and are married, have children, etc.

These videos might act as motivation to their target audiences to rise and shine, have a positive outlook on their day, and live their best lives.

Examples (for younger audience – preteens, teenagers): Meredith Foster – approx. 4 million subs. - (“Winter Morning Routine”) | MyLifeAsEva – approx. 5 million subs - (“My Realistic Morning Routine”)

Examples (for mature millennial audience): Jaclyn Hill – approx. 2.5 million subs – “My Morning Routine” | Michelle Phan – approx. 8 million subs – “Wake Up With Me in NYC”

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M O R N I N G R O U T I N E S & H A C K S

MORNING ROUTINE VIDEOS

Source: http://stylecaster.com/morning-routine-youtube-videos-are-a-thing-and-teen-girls-are-obsessed/

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M O R N I N G R O U T I N E S & H A C K S

THE ROMANCE OF MORNINGS

If you’re on Tumblr, it’s inevitable to scroll upon an abundance of romantic, cozy-feeling images of the morning time.

This kind of coffee visualization, much like the documentation of coffee time on Instagram, is aspirational yet attainable. It’s about finding beauty in the everyday, with coffee as the hero to a comfortable morning in. It presents morning as something to look forward to with anticipation instead of the time-old perception of mornings as being rushed and difficult.

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D I Y C O F F E E

INFOGRAPHICS

Source: Pinterest

There are hundreds of coffee-related infographics on the Internet, primarily shared on Pinterest and Tumblr. While many are not blatantly branded by a coffee shop or roasting company, most of these infographics seem to link back to a coffee shop or roasting company, where they were created and promoted. They range in purpose/topic but are usually informational and help coffee-drinkers understand the process behind the coffee they drink, learn how to make new drinks, or figure out which at-home brewing method is best for their lifestyles and preferences.

Pinterest users are pinning dozens of new make-it-yourself espresso drink recipes daily. These usually link back to food/drink blogs and appear to be a blend of:

• Healthier D.I.Y alternatives to sugary coffee drinks like the Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino.

• Ultra-rich “gourmet” espresso drinks with unique flavor combinations, sometimes “copycat” versions of Starbucks drinks or holiday/season-themed.

These recipes likely appeal to non-black-coffee drinkers who want to cut down costs on their daily coffee spend (lattes, mochas, frappes, etc. are more expensive than black coffee at a coffee shop so making these drinks at home is a big money saver).

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D I Y C O F F E E

DIY COFFEE SHOP

Source: http://stylecaster.com/morning-routine-youtube-videos-are-a-thing-and-teen-girls-are-obsessed/

Tumblr and Pinterest (as well as ecommerce sites like Etsy that sell quote prints, mugs, pillows, etc.) have a wide range of coffee-related quotes that seem to fall into 2 categories:

• Emotional & Romantic ̶� (ex: “This morning, with her, having coffee.” –

Johnny Cash)

• Aspirational & Motivating ̶� (ex: “Coffee makes everything possible.”)

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D I Y C O F F E E

COFFEE QUOTES

Like most other things that exist, the Internet has a lot of (conflicting) opinions about coffee.

These questionings about whether coffee is good or bad for you most likely increase when society as a whole cares more about our health and well being.

According to CEB Iconoculture, the way in which millennials care for their own wellness and health has changed and instead of focusing on major ways they can change their life for the healthier, they weave small additions or changes into their daily lives for a more all-up healthy life, body and mind.

The daily cup of coffee is one of those small daily choices we make that could impact our overall health and wellness so the reputation of coffee is important to consumers who might be questioning if it’s something they should be drinking by the gallon or swearing off completely.

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C O F F E E ’ S O N L I N E R E P U T A T I O N

GOOD, BAD, & UGLY

Source: CEB Iconoculture

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C O F F E E + C O M E D Y

COFFEE SNOBBERY

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C O F F E E + C O M E D Y

OUR DEPENDENCY ON COFFEE