The No-Frills Way Anthony Bourdain Preferred His Coffee

By reading his books and watching his shows, fans knew the kind of things Anthony Bourdain cared about. He cared about street food, places where locals ate, avoiding mussels in restaurants, dive bars where kitchen staff drank after long shifts, central markets, and paths unknown. He frequently waxed poetic about such things. He was also blunt about the things he could have cared less about and one such topic included coffee. 

Sure, he drank it daily, and told Bon Appetit he preferred it light and sweet, from which we can gather that cream and sugar were essentials. But you wouldn't find him in Starbucks or some other coffee-centered shop. Truth be told, coffee chains hide big secrets. Bourdain liked his coffee from bodegas and street vendors.

When it came down to it, Bourdain admitted he wanted his coffee quick, telling ABC News, "If it takes you longer to make my coffee than for me to drink it, then we have a basic problem." He was undoubtedly referring to coffee joints where small-batch, single-origin coffee beans made into pour-over brews are par for the course. He continued, "I like my coffee in a cardboard cup with a picture of the Acropolis on the side, from the guy who sells donuts in the street. The cardboard flavor is an important component of my New York coffee drinking experience." Acknowledging that good coffee is a fine thing, Bourdain simply believed in coffee "as a beverage, not a lifestyle."

Any New Yorker, or anyone familiar with The City That Never Sleeps, understands what Anthony Bourdain meant by saying his coffee had to come with a distinct essence of cardboard as well as the Acropolis reference. When you grab a casual cup of joe at a bodega or street cart in the city, it often comes in a blue and white paper cup, with the words "we are happy to serve you" written in yellow-gold. Known as the Anthora, the cardboard coffee cup is adorned with Greek key designs and other Greek-inspired art. It was designed by Leslie Buck, the Marketing Director for the Sherri Cup Company, in 1963.

Noticing that many diners and food vendors in New York were run by Greek immigrants at the time, Buck introduced the design which he knew would appeal to them. Since then, billions of the cups have been made and purchased by everyone from early morning blue collar workers to tourists to Anthony Bourdain himself. When I was in New York two Decembers ago, I shamelessly purchased a tree ornament version of the cup, complete with sparkly gold glitter. Truthfully, Bourdain probably would have loathed the concept of taking something that is positively unique to New York and turning it into something commercialized, but I digress.

Although his preferred coffee style came with no frills, Anthony Bourdain's favorite cup of coffee was indicative of himself: a New Yorker, through and through; a guy who didn't have time for nonsense, but cut right to the chase with a jolt of caffeine; and someone who supported the early-rising worker.