For centuries, people drank beer and wine—often diluted with water—with every meal. Whether young or old, diluted alcohol was the safest drink in an era when people knew nothing about bacteria and often drank their water from the same sources where they defecated.
Until 1956, French elementary school students were even served wine diluted with water; it wasn’t until 1981 that alcohol was banned from school cafeterias. In other words: until just a few decades ago, a large portion of the population was more or less drunk.
That changed with the importation of new types of beverages from other countries and colonies. Tea, coffee, and cocoa became popular and are now an indispensable part of many people’s daily routines. Since these are all consumed hot, a side effect was that the bacteria were killed when the water was boiled. Ingredients like caffeine had a stimulating rather than an intoxicating effect. As we know, caffeine wakes us up, and historians attribute at least a small part of the success of the Industrial Revolution to the simultaneous rise in popularity of coffee and tea at that time.
In other words: a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate, and a good cup of coffee were and remain the ingredients of a successful industrial nation. The word “hot” is key here, because cold coffee, as our ancestors taught us back then, only makes you feel good, but not productive. Cold coffee, for example, was only drunk as an affogato—that is, an espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. While iced tea remained more of a niche drink, iced coffee did gain popularity, especially among young women, but coffee remained coffee, and it was served hot.
But something must have gone wrong in recent years, and I suspect the pandemic is to blame. When, from 2020 to 2021, people had to spend most of their time at home rather than at work or school due to COVID-19, the need for a stimulating drink faded. And people experimented. They didn’t just bake bread and try out recipes; they also let their taste buds explore new drink variations.
The end result is that for several months now, when I order an espresso or macchiato at the cafes and restaurants I frequent, I’m asked whether I’d like it cold or hot. Sometimes they don’t even ask—they just assume it’s supposed to be cold. The cover photo is the result of this new standard. What was supposed to be a macchiato at the French café was served to me with ice cubes.
What outrages me as a coffee lover, I find fascinating as a trend researcher. Right before my eyes, in just a few months, a tipping point was reached where coffee is no longer automatically considered a hot drink, but rather a cold one. And the younger generation finds this completely normal. Thus, a centuries-old tradition of coffee as a hot drink has been overturned in just a few months.
My two cents on the matter: I don’t need iced coffee, because anything more than that would just be kitsch! Serve the coffee, but hot, please!