From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.

From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.

As the world becomes increasingly globally connected, more people than ever live away from their birth country. This means that more and more people will need to learn to adapt and integrate with new cultures and experiences. This can be a difficult process, because in their efforts to adapt, they might try to forget or abandon their previous culture in order to better assimilate to their new home. In this Creative Project, I examine my own transnational journey as a Russian living in America. I wanted to see how my identity as a person linked by two very different places has shaped who I am and what I want to be. Now that I am finishing college, how will my Russianness shape my possibilities in the future? In order to start this reflective process, I read 10 transitional novels to gain a sense of how other Russians processed their lives in America. I then used the insights I gained from these texts to design a set of questions that I asked myself and two other people, both with backgrounds that were similar to my own. Based on these discussions, I gained a greater appreciation for how my Russianness could be a real strength as I chart my future path in life.