Tunisia is and has always been in the crossroads of many great civilizations. Each of these civilizations have helped to shape and form the unique cultures and society of Tunisia today. They simultaneously identify as part of North Africa, part of the Arab world, part of the Mediterranean Basin. Their land has been claimed by the Amazigh, the Romans, the French. Each have left lasting marks on the cultural landscape of the country. Just last week, my group went on an excursion to the south of the country. In just a few days, we saw a Roman amphitheater, rode camels in the Sahara, and stayed in troglodytes that were inhabited by the Amazigh for centuries.
In every country I’ve studied in, there’s been a clear preference for either coffee or tea. When I studied in France, there was a clear preference for coffee. Each street is lined with cafés and terraces where people enjoyed sipping on their coffee while watching the world go by. When I studied in China, the obvious favorite was tea. Instead of cafés, the streets were adorned with tea houses and tea shops where people would spend hundreds of yuan for a few good cups and a great experience. Unless I wanted to spend a significant amount of money, it was nearly impossible to find any coffee that wasn’t instant. In Tunisia, I’ve found that neither tea nor coffee is as blatantly favored. It is just as common to see people sipping mint tea as it is to see people enjoying a strong coffee in each café.
A country’s predilection for either tea or coffee may not be culturally significant. However, in each of these countries I’ve studied in, café culture is an integral part of the larger culture. Cafés are a place where all people gather together and discuss everything from grand concepts to simple chit chat. Everyone partakes, everyone speaks, ideas are exchanged over a hot drink. In Western societies, such as France, this drink tends to be coffee. In Eastern societies such as China, this drink tends to be tea. While the origins of this difference is probably about the agricultural feasibility of each crop, today, when each product is readily available at the market, it represents an interesting cultural divide. A schism where Tunisia finds itself in the middle. Like so much in the Tunisian culture and Tunisian history, its caught in the crossroads. It teaches Arabic and French. It eats croissants and harissa. It’s stuck between the coffee-lovers and the tea-lovers.
