The Promise of Progress from Iran's Cafes

Op-Ed by AIC Communications Associate Samuel Howell 

Photos courtesy of Leyla Azadinia

A cup of coffee can change the world. This statement might seem idealistic, but a look beneath the surface reveals some important and overlooked aspects of the coffee industry. Because of its affordability relative to other drinks, versatile brewing methods, and strong cultural ties, coffee is popular almost everywhere. It is currently consumed daily by 1 billion people in a variety of places around the world, from rural villages to bustling megacities. The modern growth of cafes alongside the globalization of coffee has also fostered a unifying and international love of cafe culture that is continuing to spread even today. This culture has more recently regrown roots in Iran, despite the country’s prolonged diplomatic isolation and economic downturn. Here, cafes play an interesting role in creating positive change, while confronting the negative effects of authoritarianism and an uncertain domestic situation. Below, we will explore the social, economic, and political aspects of cafes that are helping to foster development and democracy in one of the earth’s oldest nations. 

History and Influence of Iranian Cafes

Coffee first came to Iran in the 1500’s during the Safavid Dynasty, and by the following century, it had already become the most in-demand beverage in Iran. Coffeehouses, early versions of cafes that appeared during this time, became favorite places to hold intellectual debates in public about new ideas, literature, and religion. Yet in 1899 after the first successful cultivation of tea in Iran, coffee was eclipsed in popularity. Later in 1907, Britain and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Entente, which split an occupied Iran between the two heavy tea-consuming countries, emboldening foreign competition for influence in the region. In the following decades, tea seeped deeper into Iranian culture because of this sustained European influence. 

The cultural dominance of tea in Iran understandably shrank its coffee industry after over a century of neglect. But around the early 2000’s, coffee began a steady resurgence with the help of new cafes, which adopted aesthetics similar to that of the West. Chain shops such as SAM Coffee Roasters are now a common sight in Iran’s large urban areas. Preferences in coffee have evolved to become more nuanced, and independent cafes are specializing to fit niche tastes, broadening the attractiveness of cafes to different social groups. Historical cafes like the Masoudie Cafe, which is housed in the 13th century Massoud mansion, are also regaining their popularity. 

The numbers measure up too. In 2017 there were 250 registered cafes in the capital of Tehran alone, with an estimated 300-400 more being unregistered. In addition, almost 50% of public spending on the coffee industry is done out-of-home, meaning in restaurants and cafes. This has inspired more Iranians to become entrepreneurs, with many Iranians and even immigrants opening up their own cafes. Because of the absence of coffee giants like Starbucks and a lack of connectivity with the global coffee industry, which are blocked by sanctions, Iranian cafes have developed freely and innovated their own methods for success. Even though they might not seem important in a world filled with cafes, it is still exceptional that these cafes have been allowed to open at all. 

Iran’s Dark Situation

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, many aspirations of the new Islamic Republic, like social justice, freedom, and democracy, have fallen flat. Ultimately, Iranians have been stripped of many freedoms due to strict religious laws and harsh enforcement practices. Legal requirements on society, like gender segregation in public and forcing women to wear hijab, have since turned seemingly mundane daily choices into acts of political defiance. This unstable societal environment has created a rigid social hierarchy that gives power to those who support the regime, and oppresses those who oppose it. Opposition to the status quo has so far been met with brutal suppression by police and many civilian deaths. 

Yet the economic hardships of Iranians are often more immediately punishing and concerning than these legal restrictions. 25-30 million citizens live below the poverty line, and a majority of others are at risk of joining them thanks to Iran’s struggling economy. The outside world has compounded these problems with international sanctions aimed at the government causing suffering amongst ordinary Iranians. The youth of Iran have been hit especially hard, with 8.1 million young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 being neither employed, nor participating in job training. These factors have caused higher rates of despair, depression, and suicide amongst Iran’s general population. There has also been a 1383% increase since 2012 in the amount of foreign language class participants, who are undoubtedly trying to find an opportunity to move abroad in search of better opportunities.

The Community of Cafes

Yet in the midst of Iran’s stagnant and bleak economic situation, there is an unlikely glimmer of hope: coffee. Cafe entrepreneurs, as previously mentioned, have helped Iran to improve the economy of its cities and fight unemployment. Every time a cafe is opened, many jobs are created in support. Cafe managers, baristas, delivery workers, packaging manufacturers, coffee roasters, and numerous other jobs are needed for each cafe to run. Thousands of mostly young Iranians now rely on coffee shops to support their income, which offers much needed relief in a time of economic uncertainty. Cafes support other small businesses and local cultures as well, holding concerts, art venues, and even gatherings for worker’s rights debates.   

The demographics of cafe owners are largely and notably made of young people, who wish to create opportunity in defiance of their adverse situations. This drive for business success is also coupled with a personal need to create a sense of community with peers. Themed cafes are popular because they allow people with shared interests to connect, especially around foreign concepts of culture such as anime, western pop music, and Harry Potter. The new popularity of cafes has succeeded in cementing these tight-knit communities, echoing the sentiments of Iran’s old coffeehouses. The description of cafes as a ‘second home’ is frequently given in interviews of Iranians by researchers and journalists. It is the community of cafes that also taps into the essence of communities as socially transformative frontiers, as seen throughout history. 

A Sphere of Revolution

Since the Islamic Revolution, several widespread protests have been held against the current government.  These range from as early as 1999 to as recently as the ongoing protests in 2023. Yet cafes have a notably longer history of supporting movements for social change, including revolutions. Participants in the French Revolution, for example, used cafes as headquarters to organize their plans and debate over new democratic ideas. Coffee houses during the American Revolution were used in a similar fashion, and gave safe quarters to planners of the Boston Tea Party. And in the lands of the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century, ideas of self determination were spoken aloud in cafes, which eventually helped inspire popular independence movements that split apart the empire.

What should be understood from these events is not that revolutions are sparked spontaneously by the existence of cafes alone. Rather, they can create a foundation from which revolutions are slowly built. Cafes are a type of ‘public space’, defined as places where all people are free to enter and converse, without their opinions being restricted. Other examples can be bars, parks, libraries, art galleries, and any other place that fits the requirements of socialization and free speech. These public spaces then create a strong network together called the ‘public sphere’, a term first popularized by political philosopher Jürgen Habermas. In a nutshell, the public sphere is an entity that encourages debate and expression of opinion, which in turn leads to social change as people seek to question the role of existing systems. By doing so, public spheres initiated discourses within America, France, and the Ottoman Empire that influenced people to seek self determination and personal freedoms.

While Iran’s cafes fit the characteristics of public spaces, there are three major factors that give them a potency above that of other public spaces. First, many other perceived public spaces can not be counted on due to government control. Parks, universities, and bazaars are places where many people can interact, yet they are also under the strict surveillance of morality police, which does not allow for the free speech required of a public space. Second, cafes are not segregated by sex or gender. Gender segregation and traditional religious laws are mandated by various levels of federal, regional, and local governments, which restrict women from particular areas of society. Cafes and restaurants are some of the only public spaces that allow for both sexes to mingle, which supports a more encompassing and diverse public dialogue, in addition to women’s rights efforts. 

Third, cafes attract far more young and progressive patrons than other public spaces. Large numbers of university students, teenagers, and young activists use cafes as a ‘hangout’. The atmosphere and themes provided by cafes normally target these young groups as well, which feeds into the development of a public sphere and ‘counterculture’ that defies the government's control over their personal choices. The growth of the cafe industry also coincides, relationally or not, with an increase in the number of politically active youth. For example, the average age of demonstrators in the ongoing protests since September of 2022 is fifteen. Because of this, the government has become quite nervous of cafes, and has shut down hundreds of them over the past two decades, usually due to supposed violations of religious law. With these protests showing potency, yet a lack of collective organization, the social sphere of Iran’s cafes can help protestors develop their ideas, and find a path to create enduring political and social change.     

What a Cafe Really Means

Iran’s cafes are not solely a center for overt political activism, yet they are also not just places for leisure and idle conversation. The Iranian cafe stands in contrast to cafes around the world and to other public spaces in Iran because of what lies below the surface: an opportunity to examine and help address the multitude of economic, political, and social problems facing Iran. They help those who feel isolated or depressed find comfort and purpose despite crushing hardships. They provide economic opportunity in hard times, and revitalize neglected neighborhoods while fighting unemployment. And even though a cup of coffee might not change the world on its own, the conversations encouraged by cafes could reshape Iran’s path towards the creation of a new democracy.