The Rise in the Popularity of Coffee: A Brief Description

More trivia on the origins of coffee and its rise in popularity: It may be hard to believe, but at one point beer was the breakfast drink of choice in the modern world. It wasn't until 1668 that the city of New York declared coffee to be the official drink for the beginning of the day. The world soon followed suit and in another hundred years -- around the time of the Boston Tea Party -- it was considered every American's duty to drink coffee at breakfast.

By the early 1900s, Germans had declared afternoon coffee to be a standard occasion. The derogatory term Kaffeeklatsch was coined to describe women's gossip at these affairs, but the term has been since broadened to mean relaxed conversation in general.

In 1901 a Japanese-American chemist named Satori Kato invented instant coffee in Buffalo, New York. Kato received a patent for his invention and coffee history was made. He even started his own coffee company -- appropriately named the Kato Coffee Company -- in Chicago. In 1903, the first decaffeinated coffee was created when a coffee importer gave a batch of ruined coffee beans to researchers, who proceeded to remove the caffeine without compromising on taste.

Coffee as a drink received a significant boost in popularity during the 1920s, during Prohibition in the United States. During World War Two, American soliders were issued Maxwell House Coffee in their ration kits.

The modern coffee break did not really come to pass until the 1950s, when workplaces in North America took to installing lunch rooms in facoties and office places for employees to sit and relax. The American Coffee Bureau saw a marketing angle in the situation and invented the "coffee break." It even invented a slogan: "Give yourself a coffee break -- and get what coffee gives to you."

In 1961, Carnation introduces CoffeeMate nondairy creamer, a powder composed of corn syrup solids, vegetable fat, sodium casseinate and various additives. But the idea of adding milk to coffee is one that dates back to the 17th century.