Mensam Mundum — World Table: Red, white and brew — coffee, America’s favorite drink
Coffee is the preferred drink of the civilised world, according to Thomas Jefferson, and we in this java-loving nation have proven him right.
Coffee shops became popular in continental Europe in the early 1600s, but it wasn’t until 1773 that the drink became popular in the United States. The Boston Tea Party shifted the beverage tide, transforming the United States from a tea-drinking to a coffee-drinking nation.
Coffee is consumed by more than 80% of adult Americans these days, and we drink it more than any other beverage save water.
In 2016, the United States used a whopping 88.8 gallons of the popular brew per capita, and consumption has only increased since then.
In comparison, carbonated beverages (which include items like soda and sparkling water) came in second with just 39.5 gallons per person, less than half of the coffee total.
It has a global following that extends well beyond our borders. Coffee, second only to crude oil, is one of the most valuable legally traded commodities on the planet.
We here in Lake County, if the proliferation of coffee shops across our wonderful county is any indicator, drink a lot of coffee.
Coffee shops may be found in virtually every one of our towns, from Middletown to Upper Lake, either a sophisticated espresso drink or a basic cup of Joe, with some giving drive-through service and others serving meals other than croissants and muffins.
I just learned of an entrepreneurial Lake County lady who has started a new kind of coffee company — a portable espresso cart — which I discovered at the Middletown Farmers’ Market on a beautiful June evening.
I spotted the “Kates Out the Bag” cart situated near the end of the southernmost walkway as I wandered the shaded walks lined with merchants in Middletown Square (the huge green lawn in front of the library and senior centre complex). I ordered a honey-oat milk latte for myself and a fresh lemonade for a buddy since I was intrigued.
It was a delight to have so many unique beverage alternatives at the market.
The feline motif is one of the first things that one notices about this cart. The moniker is a pun on “the cat’s out of the bag,” while the banner above the cart reads “PURR-FECT COFFEE.”
Katelyn Rubio, the purveyor, loves cats as much as she loves coffee, so she decided to merge the two in her company.
Black Cat Decaf and Nine Lives Breakfast Blend are two of her specially blended coffees. Freddy and Fannie, her two rescue cats, are the names of other goods.
