Coffee & the Arts

Coffee and the arts are natural companions, whether you're an artist drinking an espresso for that extra spark to ignite your creativity, or a book lover enjoying a pot of coffee with your book group. And in some cases, like these, the art is all about the coffee.

New York’s Iconic Anthora Coffee Cup on TV

By Brian Lokker. Published June 18, 2020, last updated June 24, 2020.1 Comment

The iconic Greek-themed blue, white, and gold Anthora paper cup has been ubiquitous in New York City since 1963. With its welcoming message “We Are Happy To Serve You,” the cup has appeared on the screen in numerous television shows set in the Big Apple. Whenever a character is shown drinking coffee, whether on the street or at work, the odds are good that he or she is drinking it from an Anthora cup.

Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #18)

By Brian Lokker. Published June 16, 2020, last updated June 22, 2020.Leave a Comment

It’s a “brewed awakening” for coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi early one morning when she finds herself on a park bench with no belongings and no recent memory. Unfortunately, she may have witnessed a crime—or worse, been involved in it. She has to rely on her sleuthing skills and her friends from the Village Blend both to recover her memory and to find the perpetrator of the crime and clear her name.

Shot in the Dark by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #17)

By Brian Lokker. Published June 22, 2018, last updated June 19, 2020.Leave a Comment

Clare Cosi's venerable Village Blend coffeehouse has become a top destination for women and men to meet for dates they've arranged through the hot Cinder dating app. But the shop's business is severely jeopardized after gunshots threaten customers' safety. For Clare, solving the mystery of the “shot in the dark” is not only about justice. It's also about the survival of the Village Blend.

Dead Cold Brew by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #16)

By Brian Lokker. Published August 17, 2017, last updated June 19, 2020.Leave a Comment

In Dead Cold Brew, the sixteenth book in Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries series, Clare Cosi is confronted by a mystery that mixes jewel theft, murder, and coffee — and which has its roots in a sixty-year old tragedy. Clare works to solve the mystery while perfecting a new coffee blend for a luxury cruise ship.

Dead to the Last Drop by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #15)

By Brian Lokker. Published January 17, 2017, last updated June 19, 2020.Leave a Comment

In Dead to the Last Drop, Cleo Coyle's fifteenth Coffeehouse Mystery, Clare Cosi is doing her best to get the Village Blend's new Washington, D.C. coffeehouse and jazz club up and running. The business gets a major boost when the President's daughter, a jazz pianist, plays at the club. But meanwhile Clare becomes the prime suspect in a murder. Then the President's daughter disappears and the authorities want to question Clare for that too. Clare has to go on the run while she tries to clear her name.

Once Upon a Grind by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse Mystery #14)

By Brian Lokker. Published January 17, 2017, last updated June 19, 2020.Leave a Comment

In Once Upon a Grind by Cleo Coyle, the 14th book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series, coffeeshop manager and amateur detective Clare Cosi discovers an unconscious fairytale princess in the Central Park woods during a Storybook Kingdom festival. The young woman has been drugged, and unfortunately the police identify Clare's business partner and ex-husband Matteo Allegro as the prime suspect. As Clare puts her considerable investigative skills to work, some “magic” Ethiopian coffee beans help her to envision some clues.

Coffee Quotations from Classic Literature

By Brian Lokker. Published May 9, 2016, last updated June 22, 2020.

Coffee quotations from classic literary works, including novels, poetry, and more, are a testament to coffee’s longstanding popularity and to the enduring link between reading and coffee. This article highlights a small sample of favorite coffee quotations from classic works of literature.

Coffee Cup Art Prints by Emily Farish

By Brian Lokker. Published April 27, 2016, last updated June 22, 2020.

Do you prefer coffee from a particular country or region? Artist Emily Farish has illustrated coffees from four coffee-producing countries or regions — Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Sumatra — in a series of small bold and colorful paintings that are available as art prints.

Leonetto Cappiello’s Coffee Advertising Posters

By Brian Lokker. Published March 24, 2016, last updated June 22, 2020.

Leonetto Cappiello, often called “the father of modern advertising,” revolutionized the art of poster design in the early 20th century. His modern designs for clients like espresso coffee machine manufacturer Victoria Arduino and Café Martin brand coffee used vibrant colors and bold, dynamic compositions to immediately grab the viewer’s attention. Capiello’s posters are commercial art at its best.

A Coffee in Berlin

By Brian Lokker. Published July 23, 2015, last updated June 22, 2020.Leave a Comment

The 2012 German film A Coffee in Berlin tracks a day in the life of Niko Fischer, a law school dropout. This day is no doubt similar to many other recent days in Niko’s life, as he struggles to find direction and purpose. He even struggles to find a cup of coffee. A Coffee in Berlin is funny, ironic, and melancholy, and ultimately hopeful. For coffee lovers, it validates the notion that sometimes all you need is a cup of coffee to make the world right again.