Throughout the century and a third of steady increase of importations of coffee, Congress has for the most part permitted its free entry; as a rule, resorting to taxation of "the poor man's breakfast cup" only when in need of revenue for war purposes. At times, the free entry has been qualified; but for the most part, coffee has been free from the burden of customs tariff.
The country's coffee trade before the Civil War was without special incident; but since that time, the continued growth has brought about manipulations that have often resulted in highly dramatic crises; organizations to exercise some sort of regulation in the trade; the development of a trade in substitutes; the advance of the sale of branded package coffee; the institution of large advertising campaigns; and other interesting features. These are treated more in detail in chapters that follow.
Pre-War Chart of Coffee Imports
Quantity and value of net imports of coffee into the United States for the fiscal years 1851 to 1914 in five-year averages. Solid line represents quantity, figures in million pounds on left side. Dotted line represents value, figures in million dollars on right side
Coffee Drinking in the United States
Is the United States using more coffee than formerly, allowing for the increase in population? Of course there are sporadic increases, in particular years and groups of years, and they may indicate to the casual observer that our coffee drinking is mounting rapidly. And then there is the steadily growing import figure, double what it was within the memory of a man still young.