Coffee, that wonderful salve for under-eye bags and the morning jolt for the over-tired, has outgrown its own cup. Coffee's no longer just coffee. It's about a culture. Where you get your coffee is as crucial as what you order.
On South Side's East Carson Street, a gaggle of caffeine pushers compete for customers within a two-block stretch. Each has its own flavor -- and aroma. Where will you get your fix?
Beehive
1327 E. Carson St.
Beehive is the kind of coffee shop where the hair colors are as bright as the walls. Customers order Yerba Mate Lattes from slingers who look more Bohemian than barista.
Beehive was born during a Grateful Dead pilgrimage taken by owner Scott Kramer more than a decade ago. Little, independent coffee shops were popping up throughout the West, and Kramer wanted to open one in his hometown. He said he knew of one "stand-up cappuccino place" at the time in Pittsburgh and thought there was a niche for Beehive.
Matt Sutton, 34, of Allentown said he has come five days a week since it opened in 1991.
"You have to be a little bit of a freak to come in here," Sutton said. "It's the freaks and geeks, but nobody cares that you're different."
"Hey, I resemble that," interrupted Jason McTurnan, 26, of Mt. Washington who had come to Beehive to play Magic cards with Sutton.
Sutton said the art draws people in. In the newly opened third room, large canvases with jagged images that look like Garbage Pail Kids command the walls. It's eccentric and jazzy. On Saturday nights, as people jam in from Suburbia, heated political debates spark. Sutton calls it Beatnik.
"Some of us are externally freakish. Some of us are internally freakish," he said. "There's a gambit of people who come in here that you can't pigeonhole."
Starbucks
1400 E. Carson St.
The company that taught us how to order caffeine in its endless possibilities -- triple chai latte with skim and no whip -- has become a landmark on America's street corners.
Whether you crave consistency or despise homogenization, the Starbucks on Carson Street, opposite Beehive in location and culture, plays out the debate.
Rozzanna Bonesso, 33, of Robinson, said she wants to support the mom-and-pop stores but she loves how a cup of Starbucks coffee tastes the same no matter which location she visits.
"It's so comfortable, and I know I will get the same thing every time," said Bonesso, curled up on a plush purple couch with two girlfriends and cradling a grande cup.
It's not just the brand of coffee bean or background music that appeals to Bonesso's friend, Bethany Markle, 23, of Robinson. Markle said she appreciates Starbucks' corporate responsibility, like giving health benefits to part-time employees, and the store's cleanliness.
She called the atmosphere in Starbucks "manufactured character," but she can't help but keep coming back.
"The frappuccinos are like crack. You can't have one and not need them," she said.
But the No. 1 reason these friends choose Starbucks over the other Carson Street shops: It's non-smoking.
District manager Amy Tingler said Starbucks believes in creating an environment: Home may be your first place and work the second. Starbucks wants to be where you go in between.
"We want to make this more of their living room," Tingler said.
Tuscany Cafe
1501 E. Carson St.
Just a block down Carson Street, the trendy Tuscany Cafe juts into the sidewalk. A large coffee bar up front offers unique blends like Mocha Bianca and a menu of lunch fare. In back, a full bar operates behind a sleek counter.
"If you want Bailey's or Kahlua in your coffee, you can get it here," owner Matt Tracy said.
Floor-to-ceiling bay windows welcome customers at the storefront. It's as close as you can get to European sidewalk dining in February in Pittsburgh, and it's the very thing that draws in Mike McMahon, 55, of Mt. Lebanon.
"We just sit in the window and people watch," McMahon said. "We come for the calm, the window and the $3.50 Long Island ice teas. I don't think I've ever had a coffee here."
David Sepulveda, 45, sipped an ice tea with McMahon at their favorite table, their "vestibule."
The two airline employees frequent Tuscany Cafe when they're in town and enjoy the open atmosphere.
"It's been described as a gay spot, and we like that," Sepulveda said. "We like the open-mindedness. We're from California, so we're open."
Tuscany Cafe was the first place Catherine Zagare, 24, of Regent Square came when she moved to Pittsburgh. Zagare, who sat at a back table writing in her journal, likes how she can come alone and not be bothered, but can also bring friends who can choose between alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks until 2 a.m.
"The low lighting here makes it so inviting. It doesn't feel like a doctor's office," Zagare said. "It's a very balanced place. They're not too friendly and not too cold.
"And they have the best chai in the city," she said.
