Rise, Grind, and Shine: Coffee Mills and Fueling America

Grinding by Hand

Today, grinding your coffee beans seems quaint in some ways. Many of us are used to going to our favorite grocery store or café and buying pre-ground beans. However, for centuries, unless you went to a coffee house or another establishment that served coffee, you would grind and sometimes toast the beans yourself. Hand grinders, like this one, tell the story of coffee in the United States, and its rise in popularity.

Even 18th Century Dentists Need Caffeine

One of the earliest coffee patents issued in the United States went to a coffee mill. Thomas Jefferson’s dentist, Thomas Bruff, Sr., patented a wall-mounted coffee mill in 1789. Before that, many people used their spice grinders or a mortar and pestle to grind the roasted beans into a powder. Prior to the American Revolution, coffee consumption was common, but tea reigned supreme. Various “tea parties” across the continent, with the most well-known being the Boston Tea Party, pushed coffee into favor with Americans. After the war, coffee remained the drink of choice and  grew in popularity. Throughout the rest of the 18th and 19th centuries, coffee’s popularity rose, particularly with soldiers as it gave them an extra boost of energy. Technology changes also made coffee way more accessible.

The Grinder Evolves

Coffee mills and grinders continued to evolve. Contrary to European grinders, American ones were often larger, allowing for more coffee consumption. During the 1860s, a new method for roasting coffee beans occurred when Jabez Burns invented the self-emptying coffee bean roaster. This allowed coffee companies to sell pre-roasted beans easily and one less task for the home cook to do. The invention proved especially profitable to sell pounds of pre-roasted beans to Americans migrating westward. By the dawn of the 20th century, a coffee grinder was a kitchen necessity. While not considered a kitchen essential anymore, many people still like to grind their coffee at home but now with electricity instead of by hand.

Sources:

Avey, Tori. “The Caffeinated History of Coffee”. The History Kitchen. PBS. 8 April 2013. Accessed on: 1 August 2020.

Rotondi, Jessica Pearce. “How Coffee Fueled Revolutions – And Revolutionary Ideas”. History Channel. 11 February 2020. Accessed on: 1 August 2020.

Stephenson, Tristan. The Curious Barista’s Guide to Coffee.  Ryland Peters & Small. 2015.