Café in small towns: a picture of the weakening social engagement

Abstract

Small towns in developing countries are grappling with the evolving global brand and modern coffee shops (cafés) that have driven out the traditional coffee shop. New cafés have also encouraged a global coffee culture with its uniformity of coffee presentation and quality standard. This research was conducted in East Java, Indonesia, from 2017 to 2018. This study analyses the changing of coffee culture from the perspective of coffee shops culture in small towns of the developing country. Previously, coffee shops served not only as community meeting spots but also as centres of information and resource exchanges. Coffee shop helped to mediate people’s social interactions. Newly arrived café leaves the social dimension of the traditional coffee shop with limited interaction among its patrons. Café becomes a mere economic establishment and a token of a modern lifestyle. The study reveals that even though cafés improve the economy, the change reflects the changing of civic-bond in society. It concludes that the changing of coffee consumption in rural Indonesia may not only signing the arrival of a globalised coffee culture but also, signing the change of social engagement of the society.