Ian_G wrote:So coming back to my original "theory". Was cost reduction the determining factor behind dose setting?

No. Throughout continental Europe, cafes were the equivalent of English or US clubs; they were exclusive and expensive. You didn't need to be a member to go, but you weren't seated if you weren't presentable. Espresso stands at arcades and railway stations were serving a quickly prepped drink to the same affluent cafe customers who were in a hurry.

The race towards the bottom began after the first world war. Unionized blue collar workers and the new class of basic white collar workers became affluent enough to afford coffee and other sufficiencies ("necessities," "sufficiencies," and "luxuries" were once regarded as the three levels of goods). Finding lots of cheap, mass produced sufficiencies became the key to regular people being able to lead a pleasant life, and it eventually gave us Folgers and Walmart.

High end coffee became the province of stuffy rich people going to moldering old cafes and more or less disappeared from the popular culture. In Italy, espresso turned into to the apotheosis of mass produced coffee. The blends became cheaper, but I do not think the dosing changed much. In the rest of the world, basic coffee sucked so badly that watering it down was doing it a favor.

But the world of Walmart and Folgers, of mass produced sufficiencies, developed a new wrinkle after the 60s. It allowed people so inclined to add a few luxuries to their lives. So now the world is filled with regular people who pick one or two things to splurge on. The revival in coffee is based on those who decided it was worth the splurge.