Large Black Coffee

“Large Black Coffee”

I woke up with a line from one of the reels on the internet — one my friend showed me the other day:

- “I want a large black coffee.”

- “You mean venti?”

- “No. I mean large. Black. Coffee.”

I don’t know why it was the first thing coming to my mind,

but I decided to dive in and figure out what was behind those thoughts.

Starbucks opened not so long ago in Reykjavik,

and people either hate it or go there.

I’m kind of neutral.

So I wanted to understand why a simple place makes people so emotional.

What does a place mean?

Two scenes to compare

Staying alive

You walk into a coffee shop and see a barista fighting for their life,

avoiding eye contact, trying to take your order as fast as possible.

Once they bring you your coffee — after 10 minutes —

it’s overheated and served with stress.

There’s not much connection.

People are on autopilot.

And as sad as it may seem,

many young people are just trying to survive the day —

without proper guidance, without a real purpose.

Doing alright

You walk into a coffee shop and the barista greets you.

There’s a “hello” and an exchange of eye contact.

You're being served.

There are questions about your preferences.

Your coffee comes at the right time, at the right temperature,

served with a blink of an eye.

There’s some connection there.

People are at work, but they’re present.

And as simple as it may seem — this should be the baseline of work:

With proper guidance, with purpose, and without tension.

Seeking higher purpose

Places, in general, have a certain vibe behind them.

They attract a certain kind of people —

employees, guests, even deliveries.

Coffee roasteries or cheap coffee beans from who knows where —

it all adds up.

It’s something that’s not visible to a fresh eye,

but there are styles, energies, behaviours that are really being served.

Coffee is important —

but the whole idea behind *how* to serve it is the real thing here.

What coffeeshops really are

People don’t just buy a beverage.

They buy how they will be treated.

They buy an identity that reflects them:

language, energy, eyes.

I’m not sure where this is going — but I’ll keep writing.
If you’re curious too, you’re welcome to stay close.