Coffee milk is a drink made by mixing coffee syrup or coffee extract and milk together in a manner similar to

chocolate milk Chocolate milk is a type of flavoured milk made by mixing cocoa solids with milk (either dairy or plant-based). It is a food pairing in which the milk's mouthfeel masks the dietary fibres of the cocoa solids. Types The liquid carbohydr ...

. It is the official state drink of the US state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Coffee syrup

Coffee syrup is a sweetened coffee concentrate and key ingredient in coffee milk. The syrup is prepared by straining water and sugar through coffee grounds.

History

Origin

While the precise origin of coffee milk is unclear, several sources trace it back to the 19th century Italian immigrant population in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, approximately 55,000 Italian immigrants traveled to Providence. The large influx of immigrants, of which Italians were the largest group, led to an introduction of their traditions and customs to Rhode Island. One of their culinary traditions was drinking sweetened coffee with milk. Eventually, it is believed that this led to the creation of coffee milk in these immigrant households. The development of diners and

soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentra ...

s brought coffee milk to the greater public. The first coffee syrup is thought to have been produced by a soda fountain operator who sweetened leftover coffee grounds with milk and sugar. This syrup was mixed into glasses of milk to create coffee milk.

Manufacturing of coffee syrup

Coffee syrup is produced by straining hot water and sugar through coffee grounds, and is also prepared by preparing a large amount of hot coffee and then adding sugar to it afterward. A cold-process method for coffee syrup involves soaking pulverized coffee beans for some time and then adding sugar. It was originally produced in the 1930s in corner drug stores and was targeted towards children, while their parents drank hot coffee. Due to the popularity of the product, coffee syrup was eventually bottled and sold by merchants. The first mass-produced coffee syrup was introduced by the Silmo Packing Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1932. In 1938,

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, southwest of Boston, Massachu ...

-based Eclipse Food Products began heavily promoting its own coffee syrup product, with

Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical ar ...

's Autocrat Coffee coming to market in the 1940s. Autocrat purchased long-time competitor Eclipse in 1991 and today produces both brands of syrup. Autocrat is claimed to be the most popular brand of coffee syrup in Rhode Island. More recently, brands such as Dave's Coffee and Morning Glory have begun to offer coffee syrups with desired customer qualities including no

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

and artificial colors. Some people brew their own in a saucepan using coffee and sugar.

Rise in popularity

The public loved the idea of coffee milk and, especially due to the large population of Italian immigrants, the popularity of coffee milk began to rise over the course of the 20th century. In 1993, state politicians took notice. After having a competition between coffee milk and Del's Lemonade, the

Rhode Island Legislature The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Sena ...

voted to change the state drink. On July 29, 1993, Rhode Island named coffee milk their official state drink. As coffee milk took off in Rhode Island, neighboring states also took notice of it. Additionally, local businesses in Rhode Island took advantage of this growth of popularity. In December 2013, the

Narragansett Brewing Company The Narragansett Brewing Company ( ) is an American brewery founded in Cranston, Rhode Island in 1890. Founders included John H. Fehlberg, Augustus F. Borchandt, Herman G. Possner, George M. Gerhard, Constand A. Moeller, and Jacob Wirth. Narrag ...

partnered with Autocrat Coffee to market a limited edition "coffee milk stout". In the summer of 2015, Warwick Ice Cream worked with Autocrat to begin producing coffee milk ice cream.

Use in other beverages

Coffee milk and coffee syrup have been used as ingredients in other beverages. A coffee cabinet is an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

-based milkshake-style beverage found almost exclusively in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, consisting of coffee ice cream, coffee syrup, and milk.Smith, Peter W. (2003). ''New England Country Store Cookbook''. iUniverse. Retrieved 11 January 2014 fro

In December 2013, the

partnered with Autocrat Coffee to market a limited edition "coffee milk stout".Dietsch, Emily. (2013, December 16)
Drunk on Gansett Coffee Milk
. '' Providence Monthly''. Retrieved 21 December 2013.(2013, October 18)
Narragansett Beer Co. Planning Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout
''CBS Boston - Local''. Retrieved 21 December 2013.

Coffee syrup

History

Origin

Manufacturing of coffee syrup

Rise in popularity

Use in other beverages

See also

References

Further reading