What it’s like to attend a sober but caffeinated dance party

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Snibspace, a multipurpose venue for creative workshops in San Jose, was buzzing with the deep reverberations of bass beats as DJs AW1N and Ivan played their sets for a bright-eyed crowd of revelers.

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Tucked between Blossom Hill and Almaden along the Guadalupe River, the clean, sunlit second-story space was in some ways the opposite of a nightclub. But that didn’t deter attendees from the party as they danced, chatted and imbibed … coffee and matcha.

People popped in and out of a photo booth room operated by Sandy Chen of Seeyuu Studio and sipped bright-green matcha lattes from Stomé, a San Jose-based matcha pop-up business.

“People still want to vibe, to dance, to have the energy to connect with other people,” says Weiyean Chong, owner of Snibspace and the organizer behind the event.

Many of those surveyed by this reporter said it was the first time they’d been to something like it, but they were having fun.

“Who wouldn’t love a blend of live music and coffee?” says Sydney Ton, a San Mateo resident. “It’s something we’d come back to.”

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Such events are on the rise throughout the Bay Area, with the 415 Coffee Club hosting monthly coffee-fueled daytime DJ sets at different locations around San Francisco and beyond — the latest was an aprés ski-themed event in Sausalito. Meanwhile, Playback Coffee, a vinyl cafe in San Jose’s San Pedro Square, threw its own pop-up party starting at 10 a.m. last summer.

The coffee rave is just one of a variety of trending sober-curious alternatives to traditional nightlife popular among members of Gen Z — Eventbrite calls it “soft clubbing” — but it’s got a few appealing factors, according to attendees.

To start, it’s not competing with as many other social activities on the calendar. “There are not that many fun things in the morning,” Chen says.

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For others, it allows them to go party and still have time, energy (and no hangover) to do other things with their weekends.

The event also drew a different crowd — younger and more female — than might be typical at a nighttime rave event.

“We’re bringing a lot of women who feel comfortable together today,” Chen says. “Everyone’s having fun and they’re happy. They’re actually talking to each other.”

Other attendees, especially music aficionados, described how the option to take in the music in a less chaotic setting and under less impaired circumstances can make for a more focused listening experience.