Celebrate International Coffee Day Every September 29 (or October 1!)
On September 29 we drink coffee and promote fair trade coffee for International Coffee Day.
And there’s no denying coffee is a popular drink in many corners of the world.
From popular coffee chains like Starbucks and Peet’s to local, independently owned shops, if it sells coffee there’s probably a long line of people in search of their morning jolt of caffeine or an afternoon pick-me-up (or wake-me-up?).
You know it’s an important menu item when fast food chains up their coffee game, like McDonald’s did a few years back (yes, the McCafe drinks are surprisingly good).
International Coffee Day has a long and unclear history. It seems to have existed at least by 1983 in Japan. The US started celebrating National Coffee Day by 2005; at some point we seem to have changed our day to International as well.
And it may have been created independently in different countries, too. Some celebrate their own Coffee Days on different dates throughout the year. For example, Germany celebrates Tag des Kaffees (Coffee Day) on the first Saturday in September (started in 2006). Columbia appears to celebrate Dia del Café in June.
To make things even more confusing, the International Coffee Organization designated October 1, 2015 as the first International Coffee Day.
Well, maybe the first one to be celebrated on October 1 and backed by this group. But certainly not the first one ever. And they called it the first “official” International Coffee Day. But we’re not sure what made this one more official than past ones …
Not that we’re complaining. There’s nothing wrong with multiple celebrations of coffee. As far as we’re concerned, every day should be International Coffee Day.
A Sip of Coffee History and Trivia
On International Coffee Day we also celebrate the long history of our love affair with coffee.
It is believed that we have a 9th century goat herder to thank for discovering the stimulating effects of the coffee bean. Apparently this wide-awake fellow (he clearly didn’t need coffee!) noticed his goats acting different after eating certain berries. So he investigated further.
(Of course, that story might just be a myth …)
The little brown bean we know as coffee is actually the pit of the coffee plant’s berry (or cherry). This plant is an evergreen in the genus Coffea.
Early on people made foods and drinks from the whole berry. It wasn’t until the 13th century that someone decided to roast the beans.
Coffee’s popularity as a drink began in Arabia. From there it spread across Asia and Europe, eventually making its way across the pond to America and making our mornings tolerable.
But not everyone loved coffee. During the Ottoman Empire drinking coffee could get you put to death under the reign of Sultan Murad IV. Apparently he really hated coffee.
Despite a few haters in history, today we drink billions of cups each day. That’s right, it’s estimated that the world drinks around 2.25 billion cups of the stuff every single day!
But there’s nothing wrong with that, because coffee is good for you. At least in moderation. Probably. Recent studies have suggested that moderate coffee drinking can help you live longer and be healthier. We’ll drink to that!
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficially caffeinated holiday.
How to Celebrate International Coffee Day
Individuals
Drink coffee!
Seriously, we hope you didn’t actually need anyone to tell you that.
Some coffee shops give away free coffee or have coffee deals/coupons in honor of the day. If there’s one near you, stop in and grab a cup.
Maybe try a new coffee drink or a flavored coffee.
If you prefer to make your own, consider trying a new coffee brand, roast or flavor:
- Death Wish Ground Coffee, The World’s Strongest Coffee, Fair Trade and USDA Certified Organic
- Koffee Kult Coffee Beans Dark Roasted … Organically Sourced Fair Trade
- Kauai Coffee Coconut Caramel Crunch Ground
- Trader Joe’s Joyous Joe Ground Coffee Sampler
- Don Francisco Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee
Or experiment with making coffee drinks:
- Turkish Coffee
- Hot Buttered Toffee Coffee Wow. Two of my favorite things in one cup!
- Coffee Granita
- Cafe Mexicano (Spiced “Cafe de Olla” Coffee)
- Hazelnut Mocha Smoothies
- Pumpkin Pie Latte For those pumpkin drink lovers out there (I’m not one of them!).
You could even supplement your cups of coffee with coffee flavored items throughout the day. It turns out lots of things come in coffee flavored versions!
- Coffee flavored yogurt
- Coffee flavored coconut milk
- Coffee flavored gum
- Coffee flavoring, for adding to just about anything to make it coffee flavored! Seriously, how can you go wrong?
You can also include coffee in cooking:
- New York Strip Steak with Spicy Coffee Rub I bet the rub would be great on other meats, too!
- Coffee Braised Short Ribs
- Walnut Mocha Torte
- Jamaican Coffee Brownies with Pecans
- Tiramisu What list of coffee-as-an-ingredient recipes would be complete without this yummy desert?
- Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles September can still get warm enough for popsicles. Right?
Businesses
If you’re a coffee shop, well have promotions for the day!
- Give away a free small cup of coffee.
- Offer buy one, get one (either free or at a steeply reduced price) deals.
- Have a coffee tasting event.
- Get local media (radio, TV, newspapers, even bloggers) to cover your event.
How are you celebrating International Coffee Day (or Days?) this year?
[…] International Coffee Day: This is a day to celebrate & savor your coffee. Don’t just gulp it down to stay awake. Slow down and actually taste it. Maybe even cook with it? […]
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