Leisure/Loisir

ISSN: 1492-7713 (Print) 2151-2221 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rloi20

Coffee culture: local experiences, global

connections, by Catharine M. Tucker

Brett Lashua

To cite this article: Brett Lashua (2011) Coffee culture: local experiences, global connections,
by Catharine M. Tucker, Leisure/Loisir, 35:3, 368-369, DOI: 10.1080/14927713.2011.615484

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2011.615484

Published online: 15 Sep 2011.

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Download by: [University of Sussex Library] Date: 30 May 2016, At: 09:09
 368 Book reviews

For readers who might find these careful depictions of the complexity and ambiguity
of almost every attempt at ethical consumption somewhat disheartening there is a simple
reply: truth is heartening, ignorance, especially ignorance due to deliberate masking of the
truth, is disheartening.
Elspeth Probyn exemplifies the spirit of the ethical task at hand. After complicating the
question of what an adequate ethical response might be she claims that

. . . by raising the many factors that contribute to non-ethical and unsustainable practices in
the production and consumption of food . . . these may seem so insurmountable that we may
be tempted to give up trying. This, however, is not an option. Being mindful of the human,
social, and ecological costs associated with one’s everyday food consumption practices is a
start. Trying to avoid those that come at too high a cost may give us an idea of what not to do.
. . . This means that we all need to do our homework in order to know the backdrop against
which our individual actions are performed. This will also help keep us modest, honest and
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focused about what we can do and what is to be done. (italics in original, p. 113)

Sheila Mason
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Email: sheila.mason@concordia.ca
© 2011, Sheila Mason
DOI: 10.1080/14927713.2011.615483

Coffee culture: local experiences, global connections, by Catharine M. Tucker,

Abingdon, UK, Routledge, 2011, 160 pp., $19.95/£14.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-415-
80025-9

Neil MacGregor’s (2010) recent popular BBC Radio 4 series and bestselling book History
of the world in 100 objects arguably should have included the coffee bean. As evidenced
by interest in MacGregor’s chosen objects, as well as in academic work (e.g. Ingold, 2007;
Latour, 2007), there has been a re-awakening of interest in “stuff” – material culture –
and as part of a Routledge’s “Anthropology of Stuff” series, Catherine Tucker’s book on
coffee culture adds welcome flavours to the pot. Coffee culture has become ubiquitous,
pervasive, symbolic of globalization that saturates (and caffeinates) the networks of the
“wired” world; indeed, I have written and submitted this review from a Wi-Fi-enabled java
joint near the university where I (also) work. This cafe, to use a neologism, is my “coffice”
(coff[ee] + [off]ice). This morning there is a bitter taste to the tail end of my coffee, as I
have just read in Tucker (p. xiii) that there is “a history of agony in each cup”. I am blithely
aware of this, but like many, find simple comfort and leisure in coffee. But, as Tucker
admonishes, is coffee culture so simple?
Tucker’s book lifts the lid on the social and economic structures, production systems
and global flows that fuel the consumption of coffee culture. The text is accessible to under-
graduates, clearly and plainly written, easy to read. Chapters and concepts are linked to
theory (e.g. Bourdieu’s concept of “taste”) but are not heavily theorized. Chapters are
generally short, quick reads (e.g. Chapter 6, “coffee the industrial revolution and body dis-
cipline” runs dry after only four pages, including a very brief nod to the work of Foucault).
Is this to the credit or detriment of the book? As an introductory primer or supplemen-
tary reading, these chapters would work well alongside additional readings, for example,
in discussions of globalized leisure.
 Leisure/Loisir 369

I would have liked to see more of the ethnographic material that Tucker uses to intro-
duce some of the chapters. These vignettes are compelling, connecting diverse people and
coffee landscapes. As snapshots they work well to draw the reader’s interest; some chap-
ters do not have this up-close feel, and the broader scope of the book (particularly some of
its historical expansiveness) lacks this slice of life, ethnographic fine-grain. Additionally,
because of its focus on material culture, I expected to see deeper engagement with the
literature on material “stuff” such as Appadurai (2003), Ingold (2007) and Latour (2007),
perhaps preceded by the likes of Mauss (1979 [1935]), who reminded that the first cultural
artefact, or thing, is the body itself (into which we ultimately pour our coffee).
This book will be of interest to leisure scholars interested in cultural, environmental,
historical and economic impacts of globalized “things” – as noted by Gosden and Marshall
(1999) “things” have their own biographies and stories to tell too. While leisure scholarship
often focuses on the practices of consumption, less often are we interested in the stories of
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the “stuff” that is consumed. Coffee culture – an interwoven yet easily taken for granted part
of everyday life – is a fascinating topic, stretching well beyond the nearest Tim Horton’s,
Starbucks, or Caffé Nero and the daily grind. While not high-octane espresso, neither is
this book decaffeinated. Certainly worth brewing a fresh cup and having a read, although
it may (hopefully) cause reflection on the contents of your cup.

References
Appadurai, A. (2003). The social life of things: Commodities in cultural perspective. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Gosden, C., & Marshall, Y. (1999). The cultural biography of objects. World Archaeology, 31(2),
169–178.
Ingold, T. (2007). Materials against materiality. Archaeological Dialogues, 14(1), 1–16.
Latour, B. (2007). Can we get our materiality back, please? Isis, 98(1), 138–142.
MacGregor, N. (2010). History of the world in 100 objects. London: Allen Lane.
Mauss, M. (1979 [1935]). Body techniques. In Sociology and psychology: Essays by Marcel Mauss
(B. Brewster, Trans.) (pp. 95–123). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Brett Lashua
Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK
Email: b.lashua@leedsmet.ac.uk
© 2011, Brett Lashua
DOI: 10.1080/14927713.2011.615484

Third age and leisure research: principles and practices, edited by B. Humberstone,
Eastbourne, UK, Leisure Studies Association, 2010, 164 pp., $49.00/£31.00 (paperback),
ISBN 978-1-905369-19-5

Editor Barbara Humberstone has done an admirable job of assembling a unique collection
of chapters to highlight current research and its application to ageing and leisure in con-
temporary society around the world. The nine chapters included in Third age and leisure
research: principles and practices range from an examination of the leisure behaviours
of older people in traditionally invisible minority groups, to the embodied, contextual
experience of an ageing man, to outdoor adventure, to the practice of yoga in later life.
The opening chapter, Gerontology – Leisure Research: The Past and the Future by Carol