Coffee was first brought to the American Colonies in the 1600's by Captain John Smith. Captain Smith helped establish the Virginia colony at Jamestown. He had been a British soldier and he learned about coffee in Turkey before he set sail for the Americas. He is also credited with being the first person to name the northern colonies "New England."
The colonists did not embrace coffee immediately. They preferred their tea, hot cider, and ale. It wasn't until December 16, 1773, when Bostonians, dressed as Native Americans, tossed chests of tea overboard from ships moored in Boston harbor as a protest against the special tax levied on tea by the British parliament. That day was immortalized with the name "The Boston Tea Party." Overnight drinking tea became unpatriotic, so coffee owes its U.S. popularity to King George III.
After the Revolution coffee houses sprung up in New York and Philadelphia. It was the Dutch who secured coffee seedlings from Arabia and coffee trees were planted around the globe.
By 1864, coffee was pre-roasted, sold by the pound, and boiled over campfires by cowboys in the West. James Folger sold coffee to the California gold miners.
Coffee became the preferred drink of the fledgling country and a symbol of the energy of people marking a new path on the world stage.
Coffee drinking has become an American institution. In 2022, there were 38.4 shops primarily devoted to coffee drinks in the U.S. The coffee shop industry is valued at $46 billion. Of course, every eating establishment and gas station also sells coffee, so it is available on almost every commercial street corner.
Hot or cold, black or laced with a milky addition, sweet or bitter, coffee brings people together, for dates, for business, for friendship.
In grateful acknowledgment of those who conceived and created our country, I wish you a very Happy Independence Day!
Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-a-mug-with-the-american-flag-4676443/