Coffee culture in former Yugoslavia

In former Yugoslavia, coffee drinking is an important cultural practice. Coffee culture has a long history, dating back to the Ottoman period. The distinct type of coffeehouse in former Yugoslavia is the ''kavana''/''kafana'', and the traditional form is the "Turkish coffee" (unfiltered).

History

Ottoman period

Serbs were influenced by Ottoman culture following the Ottoman conquest, and as early as the 16th century, a coffeehouse was in business in Dorćol, a trading centre in Belgrade at that time. During this period, coffee was served in caravanserais and ''meyhanes''. The businesses in Belgrade began to be called ''kafanas'' after 1739, when the Ottomans regained Serbia from Austria. At that time, the most notable kafana was Crni orao ("The Black Eagle") in Dorćol, mentioned by traveller Kepper, who noted that the ''kafanas'' were divided by religion. The apogee of number of ''kafanas'' in Belgrade was in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Early 20th century

The ''kafana'' was the common meeting place for consultations over village or zadruga affairs. In the early 20th century, Serb peasant leaders often met in ''kafanas'', while Croat peasants did not, looking at it as an urban practice, and, instead of black coffee, drank wine. Women were at the time prevented from ''kafanas'' by a strong social prohibition.

In the 1900s, young Serbian nationalists in Belgrade met in the city's ''kafanas'' where they openly discussed hatred for Austro-Hungary, and desire for Yugoslavism. Gavrilo Princip, the assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, visited those ''kafanas'' in 1912. The Crni konj ("Black horse") café in Varoš-kapija quarter was a meeting place for Ottoman Serb refugees and ''pečalbars'' (seasonal workers).

Late 20th and 21st century

In the late 1970s, a new type of drinking establishment first appeared in Yugoslavia: the caffe bar or colloquially ''kafić''. These bars normally serve espresso instead of Turkish coffee, tea and soft drinks, as well as a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, but no food. Caffe bars are found in all cities, most shopping centers and at larger gas stations. They have become an essential part of social life as a meeting place for people of all ages, including families with children. University students are among the most frequent patrons of caffe bars. Many people come to caffe bars to smoke cigarettes, which is generally allowed in most ex-Yugoslavian countries, even indoors.

In big cities, seaside towns and other places visited by tourists, caffe bars have large outdoor seating areas, as well as television screens, mainly for watching live sports. Larger caffe bars are sometimes also nightclubs, featuring performances by popular local musicians, often in the turbo-folk genre.

''Kafanas'' continue to operate, especially in Serbia, as a type of restaurant specializing in traditional cuisine and also serving alcohol and coffee. Traditional ''kafanas'' and modern caffe bars are separate types of establishment.

Coffee-quarters

* Stari Grad and Skadarlija in Belgrade, Serbia.
* Baščaršija, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Coffee festivals

*CoffeeFest
* Coffee Fest Sarajevo

See also

*

References

Further reading

*

{{Coffee

Coffee culture
Culture of Yugoslavia
Culture of Serbia
Bosniak culture
Culture of Croatia
Culture of North Macedonia