In many parts of Europe, the act of visiting a coffee shop is more of a ritual than a quick trip to get that caffeine buzz. Whether it is starting the day with a cappuccino in Italy or soaking up the Parisian sun sitting outside with an afternoon espresso, many European’s take their coffee seriously.
We’ve taken a look at the café culture of 3 destinations in Europe and how you can achieve a similar feel in your own café or coffee shop.
Italian Coffee Culture
Italians favour the faster approach to coffee, often standing or sitting at the counter to enjoy their morning brew accompanied by a pastry or biscuit before heading off to start their day. There is also a tendency in Italy to only drink milk-based coffee like cappuccino or latte during the morning and switching to espresso throughout the rest of the day.
To achieve this bar style in your café, opt for high tables paired with stools or even add high seating to your counter if room allows. Trent Furniture offers a range of stools perfect for this, including the aptly named Tall Italia Bistro Stool!
Swedish Coffee Culture
Swedes enjoy the tradition of fika, a break where they enjoy coffee often paired with pastries, buns and other sweet treats. Fika is generally enjoyed mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon and is seen as precious time to slow down and socialise with colleagues, friends or family. Whilst fika is commonly associated with the workplace, it can really be enjoyed anywhere!
If you want to encourage your customers to slow down to enjoy a coffee and a catchup with friends, try bringing a cosy atmosphere to your coffee shop. Lower lighting, relaxed music and comfy furniture are great ways to achieve this. Our Portobello Brown Faux Tub Chair beckons you to sink into it and relax!
French Coffee Culture
The French café culture is all about occupying a seat in the sun outside of your favourite café and enjoying a coffee slowly, whilst people watching and socialising. Often coffee is enjoyed with fresh French pastries (the croissant being one of the most popular of course!)
French café culture has existed for centuries, and for good reason. If you want to offer your customers an experience to rival the cafes of Paris, providing outdoor café furniture is the way to go. For this we recommend you opt for clusters of table and chair sets in rattan or metal as they will weather well outdoors. If you don’t have any outside space, you can always create similar feel indoors with elegant metal chairs like the Rio Black Side Chair or Napoli Black Side Chair.
Ultimately, European café culture is all about the experience of taking a moment to enjoy incredible coffee and delicious treats in a beautiful café setting. Encourage your customers to ditch the takeout cup and spend time in your establishment by creating a welcoming and comfortable spot for them to take a much-needed coffee break in our fast-paced world.
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Where to buy furniture in the European Coffee Culture style
For top-quality durable furniture with designs customers will love, check out Trent Furniture's full range of café furniture all available to order online today.