The Culture of Coffee will educate attendees about the history of coffee and tea and how they have become powerful objects in American culture at the Café in Klehm Hall on Friday.

According to Eastern’s website, the event begins at 10 a.m., but seating is limited to 20 people, so it is important to register over the phone with the School of Extended Learning as soon as possible.

Marita Metzke, director of the Academy of Lifelong Learning, said Robert Wilkinson will give a history lesson on coffee and tea to help attendees understand how they became cultural phenomenon in the United States.

Metzke said she is looking forward to learning about how the marketing methods for coffee have shifted over the years.

“I’m especially interested in the branding and marketing of coffee because when I was a kid, there was one kind of coffee — just coffee,” she said.

Metzke said there was a terrible freeze in Brazil back in the 70s that almost took the coffee market down, so companies began marketing coffee to younger people to generate more sales.

This new marketing method may have been the first incident where coffee started its shift from a commonplace commodity to a cultural icon for the United States, she said.

Metzke also said she is interested in learning more about the social gathering aspect of coffee.

“(Coffee) is a social convention,” she said. “It has replaced alcohol in some cases. It helps create a social environment that doesn’t require going to a bar or drinking alcohol, which isn’t always appropriate or welcome.”

Metzke said coffee has also become an ordinary item found in work environments, and with the exception of its obvious energizing qualities, the reason for this is not completely clear.

Metzke said she believes attending the Culture of Coffee will be a good learning experience for people because the lessons it provides are important for them to understand the United States culture as a whole.

“Learning about things like (the culture of coffee) teach valuable lessons about who we are and what we’re becoming as a society,” she said.

Logan Raschke can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].