National Coffee Day, September 29th, is the unofficial holiday celebrating love for all things coffee. 

Restaurants and coffee purveyors such as Starbucks and Panera Bread are participating in this fun holiday by giving away free coffee, offering coffee at a discount, or creating their own java-themed celebrations.

One quirky coffee-inspired celebration taking place includes a writing contest sponsored by Filterfresh Coffee Services, Inc.  Filterfresh, of Westwood Massachusetts, is calling all writers to fuel up on a cup of joe and put pen to paper in their creative writing contest.  Contestants are asked to write an essay explaining why “Coffee is the Greatest Beverage of All Time!”

Winners will receive a home brewer and what else? Coffee. According to a recent press release, Filterfresh’s President, Dave Larimer said, “It is our hope that Filterfresh customers find cause to celebrate coffee everyday.”

According to the Associated Press, Starbucks is selling instant coffee across the U.S. and Canada, and following up with their first television ads ever! Today, Starbucks released their instant coffee brand, also known as Via, in Seattle and Chicago.  They plan to sell it in grocery stores come next year.

Panera Bread, in LA is starting their own coffee “Pay It Forward” program where customers are encouraged to share a second (free) cup with someone else in need of a pick-me-up, like that poor grad student in the corner who obviously pulled another all-nighter. 

In Miami, the local Buttercream Cupcakes and Coffee, will honor National Coffee Day with free cups of 100 percent Colombian coffee and homemade cupcakes from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Our Take

Did you know…

1. That coffee got its name from the word, kaffa, a region in western Ethiopia where it originated from?
2. That Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee?
3. That coffee is the second most used commodity, after oil?
4. That coffee drinking benefits include reduced risks to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes?
5. That roughly 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed each year worldwide?

Being a longtime coffee drinker myself, I’m super excited about this holiday and the fact that so many different places are sponsoring their own tributes to the beverage that helps me get out of bed in the morning.  However, I’ll be celebrating National Coffee Day by making my own fresh pot of coffee and sharing it with the ones closest to me.  Literally, my co-workers.  Now, if I can just figure out who stole my Pumpkin Spice creamer from the fridge