‘Coffee to Go’ as a Product of Modern Urban Culture

During the last decades, the popularity of “coffee to go” in modern big cities has increased dramatically and it has became a common feature of our everyday life. But its own history is not so long: “coffee to go” only became possible in 1960-80s. Why has this beverage so firmly settled in the realities of the big city? The aim of this research is to examine how “coffee to go” fits into the urban lifestyle and what changes in the modern urban consumption this phenomenon represents. The paper is based on the analysis of various urban studies, dedicated to urban economy, lifestyle, sense of space and time and other features, and researches in coffee consumption in different places and in general. The sources of the research are the results of 10 interviews with Moscow coffee consumers of different ages, in which we try to describe the meaning and weight of “coffee to go” to city dwellers. The results of the research will demonstrate how the place and functions of the coffee shops in the city have historically changed and what are they currently and how the phenomenon of “coffee to go” correlates with the economy of a metropolis, its needs, main features and the process of its development.