A cup of coffee in Bishkek: insights into the emerging coffee culture in Kyrgyzstan's capital

This study deals with the contemporary dynamics of urban life in Bishkek. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Central Asian societies have experienced widespread political, economic and socio-cultural transformations. In this context, Western or globalized cultural modes and trends influence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Central Asian survey 2019-10, Vol.38 (4), p.446-459
Main Authors: Simkin, Paulina, Schmidt, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bishkek
Brands
Cafes
cafés
Capital
Coffee
Coffeehouses
Communication
consumption
Consumption patterns
Culture
Dissolution
globalization
Kyrgyzstan
Social conditions & trends
third place
Trends
Urbanism
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Summary:This study deals with the contemporary dynamics of urban life in Bishkek. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Central Asian societies have experienced widespread political, economic and socio-cultural transformations. In this context, Western or globalized cultural modes and trends influence Kyrgyzstan's social and cultural life. One of these trends is the increasingly popular coffee culture, with its attendant high-grade coffee brands and fancy cafés changing established consumption patterns. This article focuses primarily on cafés as new places of consumption and communication, but it also examines the intentions and strategies of the café pioneers. We reflect on the emergence of coffee and cafés in Bishkek and show how they have integrated in urban life as 'third places'. Coffee is breaking away from its commonly soluble form and moving toward an expensive lifestyle product, while the new cafés offer a place for communication that has not existed before.
ISSN:0263-4937
1465-3354
DOI:10.1080/02634937.2019.1674782