Is coffee the best first date idea?
2020 is here and the pace of technology is relentless. Online dating is on the rise as more people reach to their smart phones to look for love online. According to a Statista report1, 9.7% of people in the UK use online dating with Millennials making up the largest proportion of users on dating websites worldwide. It’s projected that as many as 50% of all couples2 will meet online by 2031. With this growth in digital matchmaking and Valentine’s Day round the corner, you may be looking for first date ideas to meet the person behind the screen. But you shouldn’t need to think too hard about this as the best date idea is actually one of the easiest to plan.
Being a coffee roaster, we can see why you might think we’d be a little biased, but we believe that coffee is the best first date idea.
Here’s why you don’t need to go all out and break the bank when going for a coffee is still the best way of breaking the ice.
COFFEE IS THE WORLD’S MOST SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE STIMULANT
You might not know this but coffee has a dark side. It’s actually the world’s most socially acceptable stimulant. It excites the body and the mind and lifts your mood.
If you’re wondering why, it’s all down to a chemical reaction that takes place in your body. When you drink a cup of coffee it increases the natural levels of dopamine present in your brain.
Basically, it’s the body’s feel-good neurotransmitter, so when we scoff food that we’ve been craving or have sex our brain gives us a little reward in the form of dopamine, which helps boost our mood, motivation, and attention.
With that important science bit out of the way and knowing that a brew can help lift our mood. It seems only sensible to mention that heading to a venue where we can enjoy a properly made coffee with like-minded people might also be the perfect place to find our true love too.
BUT, IS COFFEE THE BEST FIRST DATE IDEA?
A coffee shop may be the best place to enjoy that all important first date. While everyone has their own opinion on what makes the best first date we believe that meeting in a coffee shop is the best possible first date idea and here’s why.
IT’S THE PERFECT WAY TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR DATE
(Image by @giancescon on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/GxQ13MXLTHQ)
Unlike going to the cinema, there’s nowhere to hide, you simply can’t avoid focussing on your date and sparking that all important conversation, which when you come to think about it is pretty handy. You can ask lots of questions and start to get to know the person you are spending time with and work out if you want to see each other again or for that matter make your excuses and leg it!
THERE ARE NO EXPECTATIONS
The good thing about doing the coffee date thing is there are no expectations. You can meet for 30 minutes and make your excuses or let the hours slip buy engrossed in conversation… You can be really flexible too with mornings, afternoons, evenings and weekends all on the cards … there are no hard and fast rules and you can slot dating in around your daily schedule!
IT’S A RELAXED ATMOSPHERE
There’s another added bonus too, you don’t have to dress to impress, after all this is no formal dinner thing. It’s more of a case of you take me as you find me and if they don’t like it you can be bold enough to say take me or leave me in my joggers or do one.
(Image by @taylormae on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/NK-N6coeI5Y)
COFFEE WON’T BREAK THE BANK
Cost isn’t an issue either, handily you can keep things on a budget as it’s just a case of splashing out on a flat white or an espresso and if things are going really well bumping up the bill with something sweet like a muffin or a slab of millionaire’s shortbread, but that’s only if you are feeling flush and want to impress.
THERE’S NO BETTER CHOICE OF VENUE
The choice of venue works in your favour too… you can’t get a much more laid-back way to spend a date than spending time in your favourite coffee shop. After all it’s the ideal place to relax. If you really know your beans you’ll know the perfect warm and cosy spot to plot up. The one that plays subdued tunes, has a supply of delicious coffee and snacky foods on tap, won’t break the bank… and it’s busy enough to lend itself for to a little people watching, which can be especially handy when the conversation dries up… which is only to be expected on your first date and things might take a while to flow…
But let’s not dwell on the negative, the chat’s been amazing, your date’s gone well, you decided to take things up a level and order single origin brews for two and agree to a second date because you know that dates are better caffeinated…
(Image by @nate_dumlao on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/zUNs99PGDg0)
TREAT YOUR DATE TO THE FINEST COFFEE BEANS
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FARRER’S RANGE