How the United States Became a Nation of Coffee Drinkers

Coffee, the Civil War, and the Union n The memoirs of General Horace Porter Throughout Grant’s campaign, we notice several allusions to coffee. Even when we find ourselves deep in the thicket of the Wilderness Campaign, we are treated to: General Grant, leisurely drinking his coffee…a full ration of that calming army beverage… 

 

 

Prior to a long day such as the one that lay ahead, the general prepared a pretty unusual dinner for himself and his men. In addition to his cup of strong coffee, he consumed nothing else except a cucumber, which he sliced and drizzled with vinegar before eating it. The general seemed to be in fantastic spirits, and he even appeared to be in the mood to be jovial. “We have just finished our coffee, and you will find some left over for you,” he said to me. My stomach grumbled as I swallowed it with the delight of a stranded mariner.

 

Coffee was one of the first immediate supplies General Sherman requested from Wilmington after reaching Fayetteville and establishing communication lines in March 1865. General Sherman requested coffee specifically from Wilmington after reaching Fayetteville and establishing communication lines in March 1865. In the second book of his memoirs, he admits that he was wrong. Yet, in his memoirs, General Sherman expresses the following about coffee, as part of his concluding suggestions, which are the result of his experiences in that whole wide conflict:

 

 

Coffee has become nearly vital, despite the fact that several replacements have been discovered, including Indian maize, which can be roasted, ground, and boiled in the same manner as coffee, the sweet potato, and the seed of the okra plant, which can also be made in the same manner.

 

 

 All of these were used by the people of the South, who had been unable to obtain coffee for years; however, I noticed that the women always begged us for real coffee, which seemed to satisfy a natural yearning or craving more powerful than can be explained by the theory of habit. As a result, I would always recommend that the coffee and sugar rations be maintained, even at the expense of bread, for which there are numerous substitutes.

 

T T Coffee and World War I The year 1919 bestowed one of the most prestigious accolades on the beverage. The coffee, according to an American general, shared the distinction of being one of the basics that contributed to the Allies’ victory in World War II, alongside bread and bacon, among other things. 

 

 

This emblem of human brotherhood, then, has played a significant role in “making the globe safe for democracy,” to use the phrase. Temperance and self-control are the handmaidens of the new age, which was heralded by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the holding of the Washington Conference. A universal democracy based on proper living and clear thinking is to be established, and among its most important adjuncts are coffee, tea, and cocoa, since these drinks must always be linked with more reasoned life, more comfort, and better joy.

 

 

In the United States, tea and coffee are widely consumed.

A steady increase in coffee imports in tandem with the country’s population growth has marked the rise of the United States as an important coffee consumer over the last century and a quarter. Additionally, a steady increase in per capita consumption has demonstrated that the beverage has been steadily gaining popularity among the general public in the United States. 

 

 

Today, it is almost at its zenith, with each individual man, woman, and kid receiving more than twelve pounds every year, which is enough to fill about 500 cups, as his allocated ration. This is four times higher than it was a hundred years ago, and more than twice as high as it was in the years immediately after the American Civil War, according to the Census Bureau.

 

 

 For the twenty years preceding 1897, it is approximately 50% higher than the average consumption during that period. In that year, a new high level of coffee consumption was apparently established, with the S I per capita figure for that year being 10.12 pounds, which has been approximately the average since then.

 

As a result of the introduction of country-wide prohibition in the United States on July 1, 1919, about two pounds more coffee per person, or 80 to 100 more cups, have been drank than before. A portion of this rise may undoubtedly be attributed to prohibition; nonetheless, it is still too early to provide an accurate assessment of the precise impact of “bone-dry” laws on coffee consumption.

 

 

This is in stark contrast to the per capita consumption of tea, which is currently less than it was half a century ago in the United States, which has continued to increase. Another consequence of prohibition has been that many hotels have begun to emphasize on coffee service, reviving the traditional coffee lounge concept.

 

 

Since prohibition, the average citizen has consumed 100 more cups of coffee per year than he did previously; and a significant portion of this increase can be attributed to newly established habits of drinking coffee between meals, at soda fountains, in tea and coffee shops, in hotels, and even in the home.

 

 

To put it another way, the growth is attributed to the use of coffee, which has displaced malt and spirituous liquors as the preferred beverage. The hotel coffee lounge, the tradition of afternoon coffee drinking, and free coffee service in many factories, businesses, and workplaces are all examples of how coffee has evolved through time.
During colonial times, morning beverages such as wine or ale were gradually replaced by tea and subsequently coffee, which eventually became the dominant beverage in the country. Until the Boston Tea Party, coffee was mostly used as an after-dinner beverage, or as a mid-meal beverage, as it is in European countries.
Dinner was typically served at three o’clock in the afternoon during Washington’s time, and during casual dinner parties, the company “sat until sunset— then coffee.”

 

 

In no other nation has there been such a significant increase in the quality of coffee as in the United States. However, despite the fact that the national beverage is still poorly prepared in many places, the progress made in recent years has been so significant that supporters of the beverage are optimistic that, before long, it will be possible to say with confidence that coffee making in America is a national honor rather than a national disgrace, as it was in the previous decades.

 

How the United States Became a Nation of Coffee Drinkers

 

 

 

 

As of now, the coffee in the more advanced households, as well as at the top hotels and restaurants, is consistently outstanding, and the service is exactly what one would expect it to be. Because of the additions of milk or cream and sugar to the American morning cup, it is considered a food beverage; and, unlike in Europe, this same ample cup is served again as an essential element of the noonday and evening meals for the majority of Americans.

 

 

Increasing Coffee Consumption The issue is whether Mr. or Mrs. Citizen, or the little Citizens growing up into the coffee-drinking age, pass their individual cups along for a second filling when they were previously pleased with one pouring. What do they do with their cup of coffee in the evenings and mornings? Do they have it given to them at an afternoon reception where they would have previously received something else? Or, to put it another way, is the coffee habit growing more intense while also becoming more widespread?

 

 

Many very excellent reasons exist for this to have happened in the previous twenty-five or thirty years; for example, there have been many and significant advancements in the distribution, packaging, and preparation of coffee throughout that time period.
These days, it would take a couple of minutes between a hundred other kitchen duties to set a pan over a fire and roast a handful of green coffee beans, followed by another two or three minutes to pound or grind the crudely roasted product into coarse granules for boiling. Those were the days, and they are long gone.

 

 

For many years, the sharpest minds of the coffee merchants, not only in the United States but also in Europe, have been hard at work refining the beverage as it makes its way into the consumer’s cup, and their accomplishment has been remarkable. In addition to being roasted, the buyer may now have his favorite brand packaged in an airtight container to maintain its flavor; and made up of growths imported from all four corners of the world and combined to satisfy the most discriminating palate.

 

 

 He may get it already ground, or he can purchase it in the shape of a soluble powder; he can even purchase it with the caffeine ingredient eliminated to 99 percent of its original concentration. It is stored for his use in boxes made of paper, tin, or fiber, with wrappings that are visually appealing and seem to contribute something to the overall quality of the product.

 

 

 Instead of the old coffee pot, which has become black with age, he now has contemporary, gleaming percolators and filtering systems, with a new one being introduced every few months to compete with even these old favorites. Finally, but certainly not least, he is receiving free tuition to ensure that everything is done correctly.
In the face of these and dozens of other improvements, it would be remarkable to find that a considerably better average cup of coffee was not made than what was provided forty years earlier, and that coffee drinkers would not express their pleasure by returning for more in response.

 

 

It will be observed that the increase has been substantial, pretty consistent, but not precisely uniform. Over the course of fifty years, John Doe has not yet reached the point where he is willing to give up his cup for a second serving and maintain a meaningful quiet. Instead, he recommends that you “don’t fill it completely full; fill it approximately five-sixths as full as it was before.” That is a significant gain, and one that can scarcely be anticipated to be replicated in the next fifty years, despite the efforts of our coffee advertising, our innovators, and our tenacious importers and roasters.

 

 

When looking back on this fifty-year period, the most notable characteristic was the significant move higher in 1897, when the per capita income increased by two pounds over the previous year and set an average that has been fairly successfully maintained since. Something along these lines may have occurred again in 1920, when the value of the pound increased by three pounds over the previous year. It will be fascinating to observe if this is only a blip on the radar or a long-term trend; whether our coffee industry has reached a plateau or has ascended to a mountaintop.

 

 

Marketplaces for Coffee Buying and Selling Wholesale coffee buyers in major importing areas such as the United States and Europe identify two different markets in which to operate in their operations. One of these markets is referred to as the “spot” market because the importers, brokers, jobbers, and roasters that trade there deal in real coffee that is stored in warehouses in the nation where the coffee is consumed. Located in the Lower Wall Street neighborhood of New York City, the spot market consists of a few blocks along both Front and Water Streets on each side of the street. Coffee importers, coffee roasters, coffee dealers, and coffee brokers perform their “street” sales in this area of the city.

 

 

The second market is referred to as the “futures” market, and it is not involved with the trading of real coffee, but rather with the buying and selling of contracts for the future delivery of coffee that may still be on the trees in the producing nation at the time of the transaction. A coffee exchange is the only place where futures, or “options,” as they are more often known, are handled in. The primary stock exchanges are located in New York, Havre, and Hamburg, respectively. Exchange dealers in New Orleans and San Francisco do business on their respective local boards of trade.

 

 

Coffee exchange contracts are traded in the same way as stocks and bonds are. They are resolved by the payment of the difference, or “margin,” and the option of supplying genuine coffee is seldom utilized in these situations. Ordinarily speaking, the transactions are either of the type of regular margin speculation or are carried out for the lawful purpose of accomplishing “hedgings” against holdings or short sales of genuine coffees.
Located in New York City, the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange (the most significant in the world due to the amount of business it does) trades in all types of coffee from North, South, and Central America, as well as the West Indies and the East Indies (except those of the Robusta variety).

 

 

There are three types of brokers in the coffee trade: floor brokers, spot brokers, and cost and freight brokers.
Brokers that purchase and sell options on the Coffee Exchange for a predetermined fee are known as floor brokers.
Small-lot spot brokers get a commission of around fifteen cents per bag in small quantities, and half a percent in big lots. Spot brokers often represent out-of-town coffee businesses.

 

How the United States Became a Nation of Coffee Drinkers

 

 

 

 

 

Cost and freight brokers serve Brazilian clients and are compensated with a brokerage fee of 11.4 percent on average. It is customary for them to divide the commission with the out-of-town or “local” brokers when dealing with out-of-town business. Out-of-town brokers, on the other hand, may sometimes deal directly with the importer. All brokers, with the exception of floor brokers, are referred to as “street brokers.” The majority of the main brokerage companies in New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco also do commission business, managing one or more Brazilian or other coffee-producing countries clients, among other things.

 

Coffee and the Law Although the United States does not have a coffee law in the same way that it does a tea law—which prescribes “purity, quality, and fitness for consumption”—buyers and sellers of green coffees are required to adhere to a set of well-defined federal rules and regulations that are specific to the coffee industry.

 

 

Up until 1906, when the Pure Food and Drugs Act was passed, the green coffee trade was virtually unhindered. However, a number of irregularities arose, prompting the passage of federal legislation that was intended to protect consumers from trade abuses while also raising the overall standards of the coffee trading industry.

 

According to these restrictions, it is prohibited to import into the United States any coffee that grades lower than a No. 8 Exchange type, which often has a high percentage of sour or damaged beans, known in the trade as “black jack,” or damaged coffee, such as that found in “skimmings.” It is a phrase used to describe coffee that has become black during the curing process, or when in the hold of a ship during shipping; it may also be caused by a sickness known as blighting disease.

 

 

The sale of artificially “sweated” coffee, which has been subjected to a steaming process in order to give the beans the extra-brown appearance of high grade East Indian and Mocha coffees that have naturally “sweated” in the holds of sailing vessels during the long voyage to American ports, is prohibited under another ruling. In the years before the Pure Food and Drugs Act went into effect, some coffee companies used artificial “sweating” to increase their sales. A lawsuit arose out of this practice, and the result was a federal court decision upholding the Pure Food Act and classifying the practice as adulteration and misbranding.

 

 

 

Also prohibited by the Act is the selling of coffees under trade names that do not belong to the company that produces the coffee. For example, only coffees cultivated on the island of Java may be legitimately branded and marketed as Javas; coffees grown in other parts of the world, such as Sumatra, Timor, and other places, must be labeled and sold under their respective names. The term Mocha, on the other hand, may only be used to coffees from Arabia. Prior to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, it was common practice to combine Bourbon Santos with Mocha and market the resulting mixture as Mocha to consumers. 

 

 

Additionally, Abyssinian coffees were often referred to as Longberry Mocha, or just plain Mocha, in the trade, while Sumatra growths were almost invariably referred to as Javas in the commerce. Consumers put a great value on these coffees, prompting traders to adopt the names Mocha and Java to distinguish their products from the competition. Before Brazil controlled the market, there were few other names for coffee.

 

 

One of the most famous coffee cases under the Pure Food Act was tried in Chicago in February 1912, and it is still remembered today. The debate was whether it was still appropriate to refer to an Abyssinian coffee (Longberry Mocha) as Mocha in light of the long-standing trade tradition that had before it. 

 

 

How the United States Became a Nation of Coffee Drinkers

 

 

 

 

 

It was alleged that the defendant engaged in misbranding when he marketed under the names Java and Mocha a coffee that included Abyssinian coffee. The product will be known as Abyssinian Mocha, according to the ruling of the court. However, it has subsequently been widely recognized that only coffee cultivated in the Arabian region of Yemen may appropriately be referred to as Mocha coffee, and that this is the case.

 

Another key regulation, which applies to both purchasers and sellers of coffee, forbids the importation of green coffees that have been coated with lead chromate, Prussian blue, or other compounds in order to give the beans a more fashionable look than they would otherwise have had. Such “polished” coffees are popular in European markets, but are no longer permitted to be sold in the United States.

 

 

Certain Central American plants were re-bagged in New York for many years, a process that endured for many years. Bucaramangas were commonly mislabeled as Bogotas, Rios were mislabeled as Santos, Bahias and Victorias were mislabeled as Rios, and the misbranding of peaberry was fairly widespread.
One of these activities was attempted to be continued by a New York coffee importer and broker after the Pure Food and Drug Act rendered it a criminal violation. The result was a well-known court decision. Eighty-four bags of washed Caracas coffee were combined, re-packed, and marketed under the name P.A.L. Bogota, a well-known Colombian trademark, by the defendants, who were found guilty of conspiracy and fined $3,000 each.

 

 

Known as “manipulated Java,” the practice of grading Santos coffees in Holland—by selecting beans that look the most like Java beans and polishing and coloring them to add verisimilitude—became such a nuisance in 1912 that United States consuls refused to certify invoices to the United States unless accompanied by a declaration that the produce was “pure Java, neither mixed with other kinds nor counterfeited.”
The United States Bureau of Chemistry ruled in February 1921 that Coffea robusta could not be sold as Java coffee or under any form of labeling that tended, either directly or indirectly, to give the impression that it was Coffea arabica, which had been popularly known as Java coffee for many years and was still popularly known as Java coffee. 

 

 

This was consistent with the prior definition of coffee by the Department of Agriculture, which said that coffee was the seed of the Coffea arabica or Coffea liberica plant, and that Java coffee was the fruit of the Coffea arabica plant from Java. In 1912, the New York Coffee Exchange prohibited the sale of Coffea robusta for delivery purposes.

 

 

Over the course of the majority of the year 1918, the United States government essentially took over management of the coffee trade industry. During World War II, it was instituted to prevent speculation in coffee contracts and freight rates, to reduce the number of ships carrying coffee in order to free up more ships to transport food and soldiers to Europe, and to place coffee merchants on rations while the country was under the strain of war. 

 

 

The Food Administration issued rules on February 4, 1918, requiring importers and dealers to obtain licenses; two days later, rules were issued through the Food Administration setting the maximum price of coffee for the spot month in the “futures” markets at eight and a half cents, prohibiting dealers from taking more than normal prewar profits, prohibiting dealers from holding supplies in excess of ninety days’ requirements, and severely restricting resale of coffee. On May 8, the United States Shipping Board fixed the “official” freight rate from Rio de Janeiro to New York at $1.50 per bag, which had risen to as high as $4 and more in the absence of government control, compared with the ordinary rate of thirty-five cents prior to the war, as compared with the ordinary rate of thirty-five cents before the war. In 1919, two months after the signing of the armistice, the rules of the coffee trade were withdrawn, and the industry was left to run its operations under its own direction.

 

 

It is the legacy of American coffee that we are celebrating today.
Americans are in a better position to receive a perfect cup of coffee than anyone in any other nation, according to a new study published this week. However, while green coffee imports are not as closely scrutinized as tea imports, there is a significant amount of government inspection designed to protect the consumer from impurities, and the Department of Agriculture is zealous in its enforcement of the pure food laws to prevent misbranding and substitution. 

 

 

Coffee, according to the department, is defined as “a beverage produced by infusing roasted coffee beans in water with no other ingredients.”
Today, no respectable merchant would consider selling even loose coffee for anything other than the price at which it is now being sold. And the buyer might have the impression that, in the instance of packaged coffee, the label accurately describes the product’s contents.

How the United States Became a Nation of Coffee Drinkers