Coffee, Urbanity and Modernity:

— A Cultural Sociological Examination of Shanghai's Coffee Consumption Phenomenon

Abstract

In recent years, coffee culture in Shanghai has flourished, yet interpretations of this phenomenon vary widely among scholars and the public. A popular view holds that Shanghai residents' fondness for coffee is essentially a product of workplace exploitation—a manifestation of "working overtime to survive" that drains health and is hardly praiseworthy. This paper attempts to respond to and analyze this view from multiple dimensions including historical tracing, cultural sociology, and health science research. The study finds that the formation of Shanghai's coffee culture has deep historical roots, embodying the spirit of "inclusiveness" inherent in Shanghai-style culture. Reducing coffee consumption simply to a result of workplace exploitation not only overlooks the diverse meanings of coffee as a cultural symbol but also exaggerates the negative health impacts of caffeine. This paper argues that moderate coffee consumption is a natural choice of modern lifestyle, and the key lies in establishing scientific consumption concepts and healthy work ethics, rather than criticizing coffee culture itself.