Chicago is, along with New York and Los Angeles, one of the three most important cities in the United States, with a rich industrial, economic, and cultural history.
At the beginning of the 20th century, on the shores of the Great Lakes, large industries attracted workers from all over the world, also favoring the Great Migration from the South in the 1920s. It was thus that the culture of blues, originating from the Mississippi Delta area, was massively imported to Chicago. Coffee market also grew enormously, thanks to the numerous factory workers who went in search of an energy drink to recover from the strains of work and music to relieve the homesickness (the term blues itself means “to be melancholic”) of those who leave their homes in search of fortune.
Here, the blues took a new, more electric and urban path, also thanks to the emergence of record labels like Chess Records and electric guitar manufacturers, shaping a style that will be remembered as Chicago Blues, with figures such as Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley, leading to Rhythm’n’Blues with Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker, and so on.
Over the years, the industry has undergone significant transformations, but this cultural ferment has remained unchanged. From Chicago Blues to Rhythm’n’Blues, to 1970s Dance music and 1990s Post-rock, Chicago has always been a global reference point in club-culture, as well as in industry, economy, and architecture.
And this year, Chicago is also a global reference point for coffee culture, hosting the new edition of the Specialty Coffee Expo.
From 12th to 14th we will also be there with our coffee grinders. Booth #705
