Unsung History – "An American History of Coffee"
Host: Kelly Therese Pollock
Guest: Dr. Michelle Craig McDonald
Date: December 1, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode of Unsung History delves into the rich, complex, and often overlooked history of coffee in America. Host Kelly Therese Pollock and Dr. Michelle Craig McDonald, historian and author of Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States, explore coffee’s global origins, its journey through the Caribbean and into American daily life, its ties to colonialism and slavery, its role in fostering American identity, and its unique social and material culture. The conversation weaves together economic history, social rituals, political struggles, and personal stories to reveal coffee’s deep imprint on the American experience.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Coffee’s Global Origins and Arrival in America
- Kaldi & the Legend: Pollock opens with the legendary tale of Kaldi, the Ethiopian goat herder, establishing coffee's African roots and its spread via Middle East and European colonialism.
"Whether Kaldi and the goats had anything to do with it, coffee did originate in Ethiopia and was being traded throughout Africa and the Middle east by the 15th century." [00:53–02:00] - Caribbean Coffee Plantations: Coffee cultivation favored mountainous terrain, which made Jamaica (not Barbados) a center for British coffee production.
"That mountainous terrain was found instead on another British colony, Jamaica..." [02:40] - The British enacted tariff incentives to favor colonial-grown coffee over foreign imports, massively boosting trade through cities like Philadelphia.
“By the early 1770s, at least a third of the coffee imported into British North America, and sometimes as much as half, came through Philadelphia.” [03:30]
2. Coffee, Revolution, and Trade Networks
- Tea Party & Intolerable Acts: After the Boston Tea Party, coffee became a substitute for shunned British goods, despite embargoes making it scarce.
"Americans never stopped drinking coffee, but it became harder to come by during the war..." [06:09] - Trade with French Caribbean: The 1778 Treaty of Amity and Commerce opened U.S. trade with French West Indies. By 1781, 93% of American coffee imports came from there.
[05:33–06:11] - Brazil’s Emergence: After tariffs on foreign coffee were repealed in the 1830s, Brazil became America’s dominant supplier—still true today. [06:48–07:30]
3. Dr. McDonald’s Path into Coffee History
- Accidental Discovery: Her project grew from studying information networks (coffeehouses as news hubs) and Atlantic economic connections, tying together social and economic histories often kept apart.
“That was the first thing that sort of caught my eye in the coffee realm... What I realized in these two classes is that there was one really interesting set of books... but these books weren’t talking to each other.” [11:15–12:02] - Diverse Research Methods: Plantation records, shipping lists, advertisements, letters, diaries, and material culture (coffee pots, grinders, cups) inform her holistic approach.
“And for me, material culture is still really powerful as a resource base.” [13:25]
4. Enslaved Labor and Coffee’s Production Differences
- Coffee vs. Sugar: Both commodities relied on enslaved labor, but coffee required high elevation and typically smaller plantations than sugar.
“Coffee grows best at above 2,000ft above sea level... what these two commodities have in common is very much a reliance on enslaved labor...” [15:13–17:40]
5. Tariffs, Price Controls, and the Development of the American Coffee Market
- British Imperial Policy: Jamaica’s growth as a coffee hub was driven by imperial tax policies.
“Parliament agreed... for coffee that was grown and sold within the British Empire to be tax free and for a heavy import tax... on any coffee that came in from a colony other than the British Empire.” [18:40] - Revolutionary War Price Controls: Colonies instituted price caps on essentials—including coffee.
“Coffee has become so common that it is an expected part of daily life.... it is going to be protected with a price cap...” [20:40] - Free Trade with Brazil: In the 1830s, U.S. tariff repeal (pushed by importers and temperance advocates) created the powerful Brazil-U.S. trade link.
“Temperance movement... trying to find an alternative to alcohol...” [21:41]
6. Morality, Addiction, and Abolitionist Movements
- Medical and Moral Debates: Coffee’s physical effects sparked concern (addiction, infertility), but it was rarely moralized like alcohol.
“Coffee causes dependence. It becomes associated with this word dependence really early on.” [23:25] - Abolitionist Dilemma: Early 19th-century abolitionists sought “free produce” coffee untainted by slavery—ultimately frustrated by geopolitics and trade boycotts against Haiti.
“It’s not until after the Haitian revolution... that you really have a large potential producer of free coffee. The challenge... is that the United States... chooses to boycott Haiti.” [25:05]
7. Material Culture and Social Ritual
- Wealth and Access: All social classes drank coffee, but the serving ware (sterling silver down to tin) marked status.
“At the top of the scale... you have something like sterling silver... but there were other options... imported ceramics, stonewares, painted tinware...” [27:08–28:53] - Memorable Story: Mary Shippen’s letter about coffee cups highlights etiquette versus practicality—some families made do with chipped cups, others prized full sets.
“She writes back to her husband... that... her hostess... will add teacups so that everybody has a vessel. Right? And she’s a little appalled by it.” [29:05]
8. Coffee Houses: Hubs of Exchange
- Distinction from Taverns: Colonial coffee houses had food, drink, sometimes liquor, but primarily served as centers for business, news, and maritime insurance.
“If you want to be taken seriously as a man of business, get yourself to a coffee house.” [31:25] “Coffee houses... associating themselves as a place of business... currency exchange... information gathering... maritime insurance.” [31:57]
9. “American” Branding of an Imported Commodity
- From Empire to National Identity: As American companies began importing, roasting, and re-exporting coffee, branding shifted—coffee was recast as an “all American beverage.”
“Coffee itself becomes remade as an American product for two reasons... importing coffee to re-export around the world... [and] promoted as this all American beverage. You see that in the advertising language... past presidents, with eagles, with other signs of nationalism.” [34:25–37:13] - Clever Advertising: “United States coffee from its own provinces, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Guam.” [36:45]
10. Public History and Engaging Storytelling
- Coffee as a Gateway: Dr. McDonald emphasizes that commodities like coffee can spark public curiosity about complex historical systems.
“That’s a much more engaging interest point, I think, for a general public about what is, in fact, a very complicated story.” [37:53]
11. Revisiting American Myths: Coffee, Gender, and Revolution
- Women and Coffee’s Role in Protest: Dr. McDonald contrasts the Boston Tea Party’s “masculine” rebellion with women’s direct action to demand coffee at fair prices during wartime rationing, based on Abigail Adams’ letters.
“They lined up, they demanded his keys, they went into his warehouse, they took the coffee out... and they gave it to the city to sell at regulated prices.... a beautiful way to think about how much more diverse the impact of the American Revolution was on everyday people...” [40:12–42:08]
Notable Quotes & Moments
- On Connecting Histories:
“There was one really interesting set of books that were looking at the history of coffee houses... but these books weren’t talking to each other. And so that’s where the idea for this project came about.”
— Dr. McDonald [11:25] - On Coffee & Slavery:
“Both [sugar and coffee] dependent on chattel bondage.”
— Dr. McDonald [17:32] - On Women’s Role:
“This was a group of women who, in broad daylight, with no disguises, are demanding what they want. And what they wanted was coffee.”
— Dr. McDonald [41:19] - On American Branding:
“Coffee itself becomes remade as an American product... rather than saying, we are proudly selling you Brazilian coffee, it is, we are proudly selling you American coffee.”
— Dr. McDonald [36:10] - On Material Culture:
“If you have the means and you feel like you have the social standing, that that kind of etiquette is expected. It has become important.”
— Dr. McDonald [29:46]
Timestamps: Important Segments
- [00:00–08:30] – Opening: Origins, colonial expansion, and early American trade routes
- [09:50] – Guest Introduction: Dr. Michelle Craig McDonald
- [10:12] – Inspiration for coffee research and interdisciplinary approach
- [12:30] – Research sources: material culture, archives, diaries
- [14:15] – First coffee grinder in America: the Mayflower anecdote
- [15:13] – Coffee versus sugar production and labor structures
- [17:56] – Tariffs, price protections, and how they shaped coffee’s history
- [23:25] – Debates on addiction, medical effects, and abolitionist efforts
- [27:08] – Coffee across classes: material culture and etiquette
- [31:07] – Coffee houses as social/business centers
- [33:59] – American branding of coffee—nationalism and advertising
- [37:53] – Public history, engagement, and accessible narratives
- [39:53] – Boston Tea Party vs. coffee protests: Gender, myth, and revolution
Final Thoughts
Through wide-ranging discussion and lively historical examples, this episode reveals how coffee’s journey from Ethiopian legend to American staple is deeply entangled with questions of empire, slavery, gender, trade, material culture, and national identity. Dr. McDonald’s expertise and vivid stories show that even everyday acts—like brewing a morning cup—are rooted in centuries of global history and social transformation. As the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, exploring stories like these helps reshape our understanding of America’s past and the “unsung” commodity at its heart.
Recommended Reading:
Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States by Dr. Michelle Craig McDonald [39:19]
For More:
Visit Unsung History Podcast for full transcripts and additional resources.