Exploring Global Coffee Cultures: How the World Drinks Coffee

Italy: The Land of the Espresso

In Italy, coffee is all about simplicity and speed. Locals often stop by their neighborhood café multiple times a day, sipping tiny cups of espresso at the bar, rarely sitting down. The espresso is served short and strong, often consumed in under a minute. Milk-based drinks, like cappuccinos, are reserved for the mornings (ordering one after noon might get you a raised eyebrow).

Try this at home! Brew a short single shot of espresso and enjoy it with a small glass of sparkling water to cleanse your palate before and after. Embrace the Italian way—quick, quality coffee, enjoyed in the moment.

Ethiopia: Coffee as a Ceremony

The birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia treats coffee drinking as a deeply communal and cultural experience. The traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony involves roasting green coffee beans over a fire, grinding them with a mortar and pestle, and brewing them in a jebena, a round-bottomed clay pot. The coffee is served in three rounds: abol, tona, and baraka, symbolizing transformation and blessing.

Japan: Precision and Pour Over

Japanese coffee culture blends traditional tea ceremony influences with modern science. Cafés often feature baristas who treat coffee-making like a craft, especially when using pour-over methods like the Hario V60, Kalita Wave, or siphon brewers. There’s deep attention to water temperature, grind size, and pour speed.

Inspired? Try a Hario V60 at home. Weigh your beans, heat your water to around 200°F, and pour slowly in circles. Notice how each step affects flavor. It’s mindfulness in motion.

Sweden: Fika, the Coffee Break with Heart

In Sweden, fika is part of the lifestyle. Fika is a term that refers to a practice of taking the time to slow down, sip coffee, and enjoy conversation and pastries with others. It’s often practiced twice a day, both at home and in workplaces. The coffee is often served with kanelbullar (cinnamon buns).

At The Coffee Collect, we love fika because it reminds us that coffee can anchor meaningful moments of rest and relationship. Create your own fika moment with a cozy brew and a baked treat!

Vietnam: Sweet, Strong, and Iced

Vietnamese coffee is all about bold flavor and layered texture. Using a phin filter, coarsely ground robusta beans are slowly brewed directly over a glass of condensed milk. The result? A rich, chocolatey coffee that’s both strong and sweet. It’s typically poured over ice, making it a refreshing favorite in Vietnam’s tropical climate.

Bonus: Try egg coffee (cà phê trứng) from Hanoi—a decadent treat made by whipping egg yolk with sugar and layering it over hot coffee. It’s like tiramisu in a cup.

Mexico: Café de Olla

Café de olla is a traditional Mexican spiced coffee, brewed in an earthen clay pot that imparts a distinctive flavor. The coffee is steeped with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and piloncillo, a raw, caramel-like cane sugar. Café de olla is comforting and often enjoyed during Día de los Muertos, or shared around family tables.

Turkey: Tradition in Every Sip

Turkish coffee is made by boiling ultra-fine coffee grounds in a cezve, a long-handled copper pot. The coffee is heated slowly over low flame until it foams, then removed just before boiling. It’s unfiltered, served in tiny porcelain cups, and often enjoyed alongside water and lokum (Turkish delight).

Turkish coffee isn’t stirred after pouring and should be sipped slowly, allowing the grounds to settle. At the end, some flip the cup over for a little fortune-telling from the leftover grounds.

United States: Coffee on the Move

In the U.S., coffee is fast, diverse, and deeply personal. From the classic drip pot in a diner to cold brew on tap at third-wave cafés, American coffee culture reflects convenience and customization. Specialty drinks—pumpkin spice lattes, oat milk macchiatos, nitro cold brews—are as varied as the people who order them.

While grab-and-go reigns, the third-wave movement encourages slowing down and savoring single-origin beans and barista-quality craftsmanship.