Revealing the Elements of Popular Culture in the Coffee Shop Industries in Tembalang Sub-District, Semarang

Abstract

Coffee Shop is not only a commodity in the process of economic development. It is also a part of popular culture, particularly for those who adore looking for leisure time and a new consumptive and dynamic identity. Starbucks coffee culture has been becoming a parameter of popular coffee culture almost worldwide, including in Indonesia. Tembalang is one of the sub-districts in Semarang that provides a lot of coffee shops, both modern and semi-modern coffee shops, that have become a manifestation of popular culture. The main issues in this research are why the new coffee culture is developed among coffee shop industries and how the coffee shops show a new identity by embracing parts of the global coffee culture. The qualitative method is applied to examine the research problem that focuses intensely regarding social and cultural phenomena in the coffee shop industries in Tembalang. Data sources are obtained through reviewing related academic literature and material from the trusted social media. The aim of the research is to reveal the popular culture reflected in production and consumption among coffee shops and coffee drinkers. By this analysis, the writer has examined that coffee shops in Tembalang carry out a process of glocalization and creolization in adopting a global coffee culture. Yet, it still points out the value of the local culture.