‘Black Powder Musket Coffee Company’ found in 250-year-old Revolutionary War records
By R.J. Williams
Historians have uncovered printed and hand-written evidence of America’s early interest in coffee dating to the American Revolution, and in a surprise to many, its purveyors were skilled soldiers, supporters of private firearm ownership, and savvy merchants.
“It’s important to note what we have and have not found,” says Columbia University historian and professor Mike Eavelli. “We did find newspaper articles, letters, and journal entries that indicated a likely tie between merchants who called themselves the Black Powder Musket Coffee Mercantile and the men who actually threw the tea overboard into the Boston Harbor.”
“In other words, the descriptions were so similar that we think they were the same band of men. It changes what we know: the Tea Party wasn’t just an effort to inform the Brits that they weren’t wanted. It was also an effort to boost coffee sales and dominate the budding American hot-drink market. It was very forward-thinking, actually. Water wasn’t the only thing boiling,” Eavelli said with a dumb snicker.
Another highlight might surprise Americans: their view on firearms is relevant to modern conversations. Researchers shared this excerpt from one of the merchant’s personal letters to another company owner:
“Verily, let it be said that our muskets of flint, steele, and woode, though a monumental gift to combat compared to swords and spears, may fail to facilitate defense of personal liberty in the event distant or immediate tyrants seek to impose their will upon us. Let us then resolve to align individual musket procurement to match the capability of those who seek to impose upon us their unjust will. We shall hold public demonstrations of our abilities with muskets, and let them be humorous and light-hearted, and let us provide our drinks at low prices during such events, so that we may instill upon our communities a love of liberty, of good humor, of individual musket ownership, and a deep affection for richly roasted arabica beans.”
One letter even referenced the outcome of a firearm and coffee exhibition in Philadelphia.