Coffee Breeds Cultural Unity

Dini Caffè’s immersive coffee experience allows visitors to see beyond the physical production process of coffee – it treats coffee making as a form of cultural communication. As I walked through the storage rooms of the facility, I received a detailed explanation of the different regions each type of coffee originates from. I was able to see the brown straw sacks of coffee beans sourced from Guatemala and the intricate shipping schedule posted beside them. The schedule reminded me not just of the manual labor that goes into coffee production, but of the attention to detail that is required by cultural exchange. My guide explained to me that Italian coffee makers must have an in-depth understanding of the social and natural landscape of the areas they source their raw materials from. The owner of Dini Caffè explained how she has personally visited the coffee plantations and witnessed how they treat their workers and harvest the coffee beans. The cultivation of coffee beans is inherently and intrinsically demanding, and my guide informed me that it is mainly women who are responsible for harvesting and cultivating these plants. She expressed to me how important it is that coffeemakers in Italy, as well as in the coffee beans’ country of origin, recognize the hard work of these women and compensate them with appropriate wages for their time and effort. I loved learning about how countries from opposite sides of the globe come together to create a product that is distributed across the entire globe. Coffee is enjoyed universally in various forms across the world, and stands as a symbol for how cultures and communities are united through a shared appreciation for food and drink.

The Power in the Process

While the coffee beans themselves are not native to Italy, the country is known for their coffee processing machines. My guide at Dini Caffè informed me that Italy is one of the largest exporters for coffee machines across the globe. The ritual of making, drinking, and sharing coffee is so important to Italian culture, so this immediately made sense to me. In every cafe and restaurant I have been to during my time in Italy, I have been able to witness how much the staff cares for their coffee machine and how central it is to their business. An act as simple as making a cappuccino serves as a welcoming gesture to customers and allows them to become part of the restaurant experience. I felt that same inclination to connect over coffee during my tour in Dini Caffè as I have felt in every one of my favorite lunch spots in Florence. At Dini, I learned that they produce coffee at a slower rate than the large corporate companies that have become increasingly automatized and less individualized. The slower pace of production, however, is what makes coffee from Dini Caffè special – it is undeniably authentic. The business prioritizes quality over quantity, which is a concept that has become largely foreign to a lot of American businesses. The slower production process of coffee reflects the slower cafe culture that I have experienced in Italy: going to a cafe is about taking the time to step away from your computer and enjoy connecting with others and the world around you.