america loves coffee

You may have noticed that Americans kind of love coffee. From greasy-spoon diners to fast food restaurants to doughnut shops to high-end coffeehouses, there’s some resource to get premium blend coffees on every corner in almost every town across the nation.


We’ve built a coffee culture, and we even do research into the history of coffee in the U.S. goes back even before the country began. During colonial times, in the 17th century, the first coffee houses opened their doors on the continent. During the 1800s and through the industrial revolution, coffee became a drink of choice for workers to get going in the mornings. By the Civil War, coffee consumption had grown to 8 pounds per person.


Becoming a Commodity


During the Civil War, coffee became scarce — a commodity. This was because imports into the United States were limited at this time, and prices grew to $5 per pound, which translates to nearly $120 per pound in today’s figures. Still people treasured and savored the drink, and it even became a trade commodity at the time.


Americans have never been ones to go in halfway, and by the 20th century, we were consuming half of all the coffee produced in the world. By WWI, instant coffee was developed and used by troops in the trenches. Even during the Great Depression, coffee was viewed as a necessity rather than a luxury and consumption never slowed.


Decline and Rebound


Things finally started to slow down by the end of the 1950s, as coffee was gradually replaced by a love affair with soda pop. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s small coffee houses began to pop up all over the nation, including the estate coffees produced by John A. Martinez. With the birth of Starbucks, the coffee shop culture boomed once more. Now, independent coffee shops and custom coffee roasters are everywhere once again, and we love coffee more than ever.


If the history of coffee shows us anything, it’s that our love affair with this rich beverage isn’t going anywhere. It’s a part of our culture and who we are, and we’ll keep looking for the best methods and flavors into the foreseeable future.


J. Martinez & Company has been offering estate coffees to Americans since 1988, and our legacy continues to this very day. Learn about our company, and get in touch to start receiving craft-roasted coffees to improve your mornings every day!