You know that scene in a movie where someone with a British accent offers an American tea and the American kinda does one of these -_- and says “Coffee”. It’s happened countless times in movies, so much so that I can’t even think of a single film where it’s happened but I know I’ve seen that particular exchange in multiple different situation like it’s a glitch in the Matrix or Groundhog day or something. And it’s a little weird seeing as how it’s not even grown in America except for in Hawaii.

But have you ever seen that exchange and thought “the hell is with everyone thinking American’s are so about their coffee”? I mean, personally, if I had some smooth British butler offer me tea I’d say “Oolong please, and don’t overstep it” to which he’d say “wouldn’t dream of it sir” in his judgy British butler voice and then scurry off to the kitchen to burn my tea and say “just how sir requested” thinking I wouldn’t know the difference. But alas, I am not in these movies so that never happens. But I still keep wondering why there is this association with American pride.

Well folks, it is for this reason that Google was invented.

According to the Googlebox, Americans liked their tea just like they liked their coffee. Then this little thing called the Townshend Acts happened. Part of these acts was a tax on tea. Since American colonists didn’t like being taxed for an outrageously expensive war…cough…they considered it their duty to drink anything else including Labrador Tea and coffee. I guess the Labrador Tea didn’t catch on too well but the other thing seemed to do just fine.

Fast forward to another American conflict, the Civil War. The Townshend acts didn’t really bring coffee into a daily Ritual (hehe) for Americans, the Civil War certainly began that since they often needed young men to be mobilized quickly. Veterans of the Civil War came home addicted to the stuff.

After that, the California Gold rush made coffee the working man’s drink. Early bird gets the gold and you know what gets you up early.

I think what really made it a part daily life was the rumored endorsement of Teddy Roosevelt. People said he drank gallons of the stuff.

So maybe that’s why those scenes in movies come up.

That’s all for now folks, and as always,

                                                                        Drink Valiantly!