How Did Coffee Get to the New World? (Solved & Explained!)

Coffee was bought to the New World by Captain John Smith in 1607. It was first introduced in Jamestown, and coffee houses sprung up across the country, but it wasn’t until the Boston Tea Party in 1773 that the coffee bean really took off.

After the revolt against King George III, the American public switched from drinking tea to drinking coffee – and the American coffee culture was born.

Did Captain John Smith Drink Coffee?

Captain John Smith discovered coffee during his travels across Turkey. He later traveled to America and established the colony of Jamestown in West Virginia and he took the coffee bean with him.

Although the Dutch were aware of coffee and spread some coffee beans across Europe at the same time, there is no evidence that they took it to American shores.

Although there is no documented evidence of Captain Smith drinking the coffee himself, it is assumed that he did so, as he encouraged early Americans to try the drink.

Coffee was officially recorded in American trade ledgers in 1670 and was particularly prolific in New York and Philadelphia.

Is Coffee an American Thing?

Coffee originates in Arabia and was first strongly associated with Middle Eastern culture, not American.

In the West, due to their love of coffee, coffee is associated with America, however in the rest of the world, coffee is a big part of Arabic culture and history.

Was Coffee Part of The Columbian Exchange?

Coffee was a huge part of the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange refers to a period of trade that emerged between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres between the 15th and 18th Centuries.

The Trade included the trafficking of people, animals, plants, foods, spices, and materials that emerged after Christopher Columbus’ arrival in The New World.

Coffee traveled from Africa, the Middle East to Europe and the Americas, and was an important commodity at that time – and still is!

How Did Coffee Come To Europe?

The Venetians were the first Europeans to sample the coffee bean. Coffee first arrived on European soil via Venice sometime before 1600.

The exact date is not known, but Pope Clement VIII baptized the drink in 1600 and it has since become the official date of the arrival of coffee to the continent.

After it was baptized, coffee became an acceptable drink in European culture and conquered the world from there.

Why Is Coffee So Popular in the USA?

It all started with the Boston Tea Party in 1773 when 342 chests of tea were thrown into the Boston harbor in protest against the taxation introduced by King George III.

The assailants were disguised as Mohawk Indians, and dumping the tea was a protest against the import taxation of tea, and general taxation the British charged the Americans without giving them representation in British courts or local lawmaking.

The East India Trading company who were transporting the tea were seen as having a monopoly over American and European Trade, so the Tea Party was a demonstration against them too.

To show their support of the Tea Party movement, local Americans stopped buying tea and instead switched to coffee, as coffee came from Ethiopia and Yemen and not via British Trade.

Since then, Americans have primarily drunk coffee. But since gaining independence, tea has flown freely through America and is widely available, but the American preference for coffee still remains.

Did The Founding Fathers Drink Coffee?

Thomas Jefferson was a prolific coffee drinker. He called coffee ‘The favorite drink of the civilized world’.

He kept up to 60 pounds of coffee beans in the cellar of his home at any one time and had them imported directly from the East and West Indies.

John Admas drank up to two cups of coffee per day. He was a regular tea-drinker before the Boston Tea party and quickly switched to bitter coffee.

Alongside coffee, the Founding Fathers also drank spirits, beer, and wine.

Did King George III Drink Coffee?

There is no evidence that Geroge III drank coffee, but there is plenty of evidence that he drank tea. 

King George III and his wife Queen Charlotte were avid tea drinkers, and it was tea that was blamed for King George’s mental affliction.

The ‘Madness of King George’ was assumed to be the effect of a particular kind of Chinese tea that he used to consume. This was according to Dr. Willis, the kings’ personal physician.

However, in reality, it was bipolar disorder, a gentic blood disorder, or slow poisoning from the arsenic contained in his cosmetics that caused the King’s erratic behavior, rather than from drinking Chinese tea.

How Did Coffee Change America?

Coffee was the fuel that drove American patriotism. Not only was it a stimulating drink that helped keep soldiers awake and political theists at their desks at night, but coffee drinking was also a symbolic protest against the British colonizers.

Drinking coffee was the American way of demonstrating loyalty to the Revolution and resistance against the increased taxes on British imported tea.

Is Coffee Grown In America?

The only existing American coffee plantation is based in Hawaii, or Peurto Rico, otherwise all coffee is imported to America, having been grown in more supportive climates overseas.

That being said there is a scattering of local coffee breweries based in The States that have the hot climate needed for coffee cultivation. These plantations are very small and usually only large enough to serve the local community.

Can Coffee Be Grown In Texas?

Coffee can be grown in Texas and a few independent breweries have been established, but they are only small and local.

Californian coffee cultivators are also making a name for themselves in the coffee industry, however, they are also very small and do not compete with larger international coffee producers overseas.

Where Does American Coffee Come From?

Most American coffee is imported from Brazil, Columbia, Nicaragua, and Vietnam.

The United States is the second-largest importer of coffee, importing around 700,000 to 2.5 million coffee bags per year.