Coffee

SHOP: A Pop Opera

**Coffee** is the fifth episode of the mini-series SHOP: A Pop Opera, created by Jack Stauber and aired on Adult Swim at midnight on Friday, March 8th, 2019, at a runtime of two minutes and twenty-nine seconds. The main song featured in the episode was later officially released on March 8th, 2020, along with the other songs in the mini-series. The episode centers around the protagonist looking for the fifth item on his grocery list, coffee, as he learns a lesson about addiction and self-control.

## Synopsis and Lyrics

The continues off where Oatmeal finished. The protagonist looks on his list and reveals the fifth item to search for, being coffee. They then look around in fascination that no one is around at the moment to talk to him and that he has the aisle to himself. He then tries to quickly look for coffee before a blonde and highly caffeinated woman with a coffee cup arrives in front of him. She energetically talks about how much coffee there is and how it's a godsend to her before she greets him and reveals her name to be Arlene. She continues to talk to him, talking about her personal life and how much she loves coffee, as the protagonist just stares at her in concern. She continues to talk before abruptly falling asleep while standing. Surprised but slightly relieved, the protagonist calmly looks for coffee before helping her sip some coffee to wake back up to which she continues talking where she left off. She then realizes she forgot to pick her son up from daycare. She then leaves as claims that she needs a refill of coffee.

As she leaves, the protagonist then thinks of the word "need" and starts existentially thinking about what the word truly means. It then transitions into the episode's main song about coffee, addiction, and self-control.

(Note: The underlined text highlights all lyrics sung by the talking coffee mug.)

Do I need it? (Mocha)

Am I under control?

Can I beat it? (Wake up)

If it swallowed me whole, would I see it?

I can make you feel alive

I know, but do I need you to survive? (Ha ha ha ha)

Just a sip

Does it still matter which one?

Just a drip

Am I dumbfounded when I slip?

You can't believe

I can't believe

You can't believe

I can't believe

You can't believe

I can't believe this happened

Wow!

French vanilla, I think I should sit this one out

No, no, no

Maybe a cup of self control would be the route

But it's the flavor, it's the flavor you want

Maybe so, but it feels better to check than to reflect (Oh)

After the song ends, the protagonist finds a bag of coffee that he likes and agrees to get, as he takes a bag of decaf coffee.

## Meaning

> **"Coffee moderation..."**
>
>

Another message that's considered easy to decipher by fans, the message is about **self-control and avoiding addiction**. In the song, the protagonist grapples with an addiction to coffee and questions if it its really good for him or not. He questions if he really needs it to survive, if he's under control with it, if he can beat the addiction, or if he was fully "swallowed" by the addiction would he notice it. Throughout the song, many high pitched lyrics are sung as background lyrics, which in the song portion of the episode is portrayed as a taking coffee mug. The coffee mug represents his coffee addiction and how it tries to reel him back in, trying to convince him to take a sip and how it's just the flavor he wants. However, he starts to call out his problems believing he should just sit it out and that finding self-control would fix him. Eventually, he understands that it is better to check and look towards the future than reflect and dwell on the past, in this case, dwell over his addiction.

The bag of coffee that the protagonist buys at the end of the episode is also important to this message. The protagonist specifically buys a bag of decaf coffee, which represents him understanding the message and buying a bag of coffee without caffeine, the ingredient commonly used in coffee that usually makes it addictive to many. Arlene, the woman the protagonist runs into, is also important to the message as she represents and portrays the coffee addiction that the protagonist fears of in the song. As she talks to him about coffee, she explains how much of a godsend coffee is and how coffee is like art to her. It is also shown that she cannot live without coffee as she falls asleep after not drinking enough and how she always needs a refill of it. Like all the other characters met in the previous episodes, Arlene's appearance resembles a coffee mug, with her head resembling a coffee mug, her ear resembling the coffee mug handle, and three strings of hair on her forehead resembling cartoon-styled steam.

## Notes

Coffee has since become the most famous episode of all the SHOP: A Pop Opera episodes, becoming very well liked for its message and themes, and also commonly being considered the best song on SHOP by many fans along with Paper Towels. The song especially has since become very popular on the internet and social media for its meaning, as well as its catchy and calm tone. The song is also considered very relatable and important to many fans, as it handles the topic of addiction and being able to overcome it. The song was also very notable for a fan-made extended version which also played a big role in boosting the song's popularity, arguably becoming just as well known as the original version.

## Trivia

* As stated above, Coffee is the most popular and viewed episode and song in the SHOP: A Pop Opera mini-series.
* The instrumental track for Coffee was featured in the promotional video made for the announcement of SHOP A Pop Opera's soundtrack officially releasing and streaming.
* Coffee is the longest episode of the SHOP: A Pop Opera series.
* Coffee and Milk are the longest songs on the soundtrack release of SHOP: A Pop Opera, both at 59 seconds.
* Coffee and the SHOP: A Pop Opera soundtrack were officially released on the one year anniversary of the episode's airing.
* Although not confirmed, it's commonly speculated that the talking coffee mug character featured during the episode's song portion was possibly inspired and taken from an old October 2017 art posted onto his Plopscotch account.
	+ During the time, Jack went through an artistic period of drawing inanimate objects with realistic mouths, with the coffee mug art being one of these.
	+ The coffee mug art was also used as the cover art for My Name Is Jack from Tumblr.

## Gallery

* Trivial Media
* Screenshots

2017 Plopscotch art that possibly inspired the talking coffee mug in the episode.

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