British Coffee Shops Offering Tattoo Services In Bid To Attract Customers – CoffeeTalk

Tattoo artists are working alongside baristas at over 11,000 cafes across the UK to attract more customers. The trend is driven by a belief that tattooed baristas make better coffee and Gen Z’s urge to find “real” experiences. Sisters Maia and Luna Omar, who love getting a spontaneous tattoo to bond and express themselves, visited Nexus Cafe in Digbeth, Birmingham, which was holding a pop-up tattoo event.

International coffee company Blank Street has already attracted thousands of people to its free pop-up tattoo events in Manchester and London. Think+ Coffee and Ink, a not-for-profit cafe in London, has been serving up coffee, tattoos, and haircuts since 2019, with all proceeds going to charity. Tattoo artist and church pastor Christian Vargas founded the cafe in Camden, putting the in-house tattoo studio very much on show through a glass partition.

A YouGov poll in 2022 found that tattoos are becoming more popular, with one in four people having one. A survey of more than 2,000 people found that women (29%) were more likely than men (22%) to have a tattoo and more than a third of people aged between 25-54 had been inked.

Psychologist Natasha Sharma, based in Wolverhampton, said tattoos were more than just body art, describing them as a “powerful statement of personal identity.” She said getting a spontaneous tattoo offered a “real experience” that broke up a boring routine.

The cultural shift toward valuing experiences over possessions and creating aesthetic, Instagrammable moments is driving this trend. Tattoos in real life act as an experience and a story, wrapped into one.

Tattoos are becoming increasingly popular among younger crowds, with cafes like Nexus Cafe and Think+ Coffee and Ink offering unique experiences for their customers. This trend is expected to continue growing as more people embrace tattoos as a way to express themselves and connect with others.

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