- Green Lifestyle
Luxury. Time. Coffee.
“The sneakers from…”, “the watch (the one with the little crown)”, “the high heels with the red sole”, “vacation, 5 times a year”… We asked around a bit to find out what luxury is. Not much seems to have changed since the 1980s. Or has it?
Karsten Suhr
Time for friends. Time for family. Being together.
All of this, it was said after the pandemic, would be the new set of values in our society. That we were about to experience a shift towards social, ethical values. So why is the luxury brand industry booming like never before?
“The total value of luxury goods now sold around the world every year, from superyachts to Michelin-starred dinners, is estimated at 1.5 trillion euros. If the luxury sector were a country, it would be the 15th richest country in the world, where Spain currently ranks… A niche market has become one of the biggest, most lucrative businesses in the world.”*
When I read this over my morning coffee the other day, I took me by surprise. In times of climate crisis and wars in Europe and the Middle East, the luxury goods group LVMH achieved sales of 86.15 billion euros last year, an increase of 9%**. A sign of exuberant decadence? Time for a second coffee and a few thoughts…
What is luxury?
According to Cambridge Dictionary: „great comfort, especially as provided by expensive and beautiful things“.***
Luxury can be a material status symbol and a way of setting yourself apart. But it can also be an immaterial self-reward and self-realization. Which also means that luxury is normal. It has always existed. At all times. Everywhere. In different ways. And it will stay that way. It is “only” the definition of luxury that is changing. While running water was a luxury until the 19th century, today – speaking from a European or US perspective – it is standard. If you can’t meet people due to the pandemic, spending time with them becomes a luxury.
So it is something that is particularly valuable, worth striving for, precious – a very individual perception that does not necessarily have anything to do with money or status.
Is coffee a luxury?
Is coffee a „great comfort (see above), “A „beautiful thing?“ Who needs coffee to live? Me.
For me, really good coffee is an elixir of life, a multifaceted, great pleasure. And even though I can experience it (the Mount Hagen Demeter espresso from Peru) every day, it doesn’t lose its value. On the contrary, my appreciation increases with every cup. Not only because I feel I discover something new about it every time, a tiny new note, a wisp of aroma that I didn’t notice yesterday. I am also aware of the fact that an incredible amount of passion, work and effort goes into it – Demeter production, hand-picked, sun-dried – just to name a few aspects. I know what it does – far beyond the product benefits and the standard (see above). In this respect: My coffee is my luxury (and not a waste of money at all, by the way).
