The History Of Coffee In Louisiana

Coffee and Louisiana have a long history dating back to the early 1800s. The Port of New Orleans was starting to boom just as the centuries-old practices of green coffee beans were being cultivated and consumed. made its way to America from the Middle East, Cuba, and Europe.

Due to the lack of workers in 1812, the Port of New Orleans had the second-largest coffee importer in America at that time as well. The city went from receiving 1,400+ bags of coffee to over 530,000 bags. Everything was going well for Louisiana and coffee until the Civil War kicked off and the Union blockaded the port.

This obviously caused a massive shortage of all New Orleans imports, coffee included. Folks nearly lost their minds without coffee which resulted in local chaos. So, everyone was desperate to find an alternative to coffee. They found it in a plant that is part of the Dandelion family that blooms beautiful blue flowers. Louisianians are some resourceful people even in times with no coffee!

Below is the full history of Louisiana's and Chicory Coffee and more.