Coffee and Christmas time
Christmas is, they say, a special time of the year and here at UKVending we think so too. It is a time to bring some festive spirit into the lives of loved ones, friends and even strangers. We were thinking about how coffee has, throughout the years, brought people closer together and we looked into see if there were any traditions from around the world associated with coffee and Christmas and this is what we discovered.
In Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia the idea of arriving at a friends of family members home without the gift of coffee would be almost unforgiveable. It is a tradition that dates back as far as the 19th century when coffee was still considered a valuable and rare gift. In Victorian England, the bringing together of family members to roast coffee beans was another Yule time tradition enjoyed by many families.
Such traditions have, sadly perhaps, fallen out of favour in Western Europe but are still going strong the further east you travel. In Greenland the people who live on this isolated landmass hold impromptu gatherings at Christmastime called Kaffemikker, an alternative Christmas dinner.
But it is not just in places likely to experience a White Christmas that coffee is enjoyed this time of year, even in Spain, El Salvador or Costa Rica, you can enjoy your coffee and Christmas Dinner together.