You might not realize just how deep coffee runs in our veins. “Coffee is really one of St. Louis’ best-kept secrets,” says Katie Moon, manager of a new exhibit at the Missouri History Museum, "Coffee: The World in Your Cup & St. Louis in Your Cup," that explores this city’s past as a leading coffee producer. Here, three things you didn’t know about coffee in St. Louis.
1. When St. Louis’ first settlers arrived, they were already hooked. “We have records from the 1800s of people buying and wanting coffee here,” Moon says. “Most of the settlers were from New Orleans or French Canada, and Paris was one of the world’s first coffee centers.”
2. The National Coffee Association of U.S.A. originated in St. Louis. It began as a group of local coffee merchants who first gathered in the 1880s to discuss trade. They hosted their first national convention in 1911 at the historic Planters House Hotel.
3. Between 1900 and 1920, St. Louis was the nation’s largest inland distributor of coffee, and we weren’t shy about it. In 1920, the local Chamber of Commerce boasted that St. Louis was the coffee capital of the United States.
