Vermittlungsarbeit und Bewertungswissen: Zur Disziplinierung genuss- und distinktionsfähiger Körper in Kaffeeverkostungen

The sociological analysis of luxury foods is primarily based on three research programs that so far have been theoretically unconnected: From the perspective of economic sociology, the value of luxury foods is inferred from the structural framework, conventions, and practices of the worlds of consumption and production. In contrast, cultural sociology examines luxury foods as objects of status-related consumption, which indicates the social position and thus the social value of the consumer. Finally, from an ethnomethodological perspective, the elaboration and application of vocabularies of valuation, connoisseurship, and taste are highlighted. We try to bring these three approaches together using the example of coffee tasting with a special accent on the body. Empirical starting points are field observations of tastings. This form of mediation is based on the explicit linking of sensual experience (tasting the coffee) and discursive communication of evaluation categories. This not only socializes bodies capable of taste and distinction, but also produces the clientele necessary for the continued existence of the roasteries.