Vienna Coffee Culture: The art of mindful coffee drinking

Mindful coffee drinking is the new rising trend and it’s most probably inspired by the Viennese coffeehouse culture. So take some time to relax and let us transport you to the unique atmosphere of the Viennese coffeehouse. 

‘It’s a crazy, mixed up world we’re living in,’ – these are just some potentially cheesy pop song lyrics. We’re living in times in which ‘being mindful’ is a trend, while we’ve got signs reminding us to ‘mind the step’ as we stumble onto a subway while simultaneously juggling an email or message on our phones.

We're always on the go, scrolling, rushing to meetings or meet-ups, which often has us drinking our coffee from little holes at the top of to-go cups (the reusable or biodegradable sustainable ones, preferably).

But there is one unique place in the world where people perceive drinking a coffee as more than just a caffeine kick – the Viennese coffee house. 

Viennese coffee houses are part of the Julius Meinl origin story. It’s where our love for the little brown bean was born. 

In the age of 30-second TikTok videos, we could just show you what a Viennese coffee house moment is all about (and no doubt will), but sticking with our mindful theme, let us describe it to you with the slow pace of words. 

A Vienna coffee house experience gets all the senses kicking.  

Upon entering, your ears are the first to be struck with the sound of near-silence, interrupted only by the low murmuring of conversations happening over marble-top tables and a constant soundtrack of porcelain cups and metal trays clanging in the background. Periodically, the milk foamer screams for attention.

There are old wooden hat and coat stands to match the old wooden chairs at tables. Everything has an antique feel at a coffee house. Time stands still here. 

The velvet of the booths framing the tables is the tactile part of the experience. People sit in these booths for hours with a cup, or two, of their coffee soul mate, and it’s coffee house etiquette for the waiting staff to leave them undisturbed to do so.

The smell is of sugar, coffee and your grandma’s place. Sometimes there’s a mixed bag of kitchen smells wafting around the place. 

Then there’s what you see: the smartly dressed waiter in their black and whites serving coffee to guests on silver trays. 

The coffee is always accompanied by water on the side with a silver spoon balanced on top to subtly guarantee the drinker that their water is untouched. 

More often than not, you’ll see a pretty pastry or cake placed beside the coffee, completing that perfect coffee moment that inspires you to press pause on life. That’s what we’re all about crafting at Julius Meinl – not just coffee, but these perfect coffee moments. 

Sounds a lot like a ritual, right? Well, some would say it is and many who practice rituals know that they – when done mindfully – can bring you to the present moment. 

Our aim is that when people drink Julius Meinl coffee, it inspires them to slow down the pace of their day-to-day life, like a Viennese coffee house does. That the coffee enhances the moment, whether it involves you reading a book, sinking into a conversation with a friend or simply mindfully taking in the crazy, mixed up world we’re living in.

Mindful coffee drinking is what Viennese Coffeehouse Culture is all about, and transporting this coffee-losophy around the world with our beans is what we’re all about.