Community
Coffee
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Community Coffee Company is steeped in tradition as rich as our coffee. As the largest family-owned retail coffee brand in the U.S., our company’s roots grew from a small country store in Baton Rouge where more than 80 years ago, founder Henry Norman 'Cap' Saurage brewed his popular coffee.
The coffee became so popular that he named it Community in honor of his loyal friends and customers. Cap eventually turned his attention away from the grocery store and devoted all of his time and energy to making great coffee.
Today, Community Coffee Company is so much a part of people’s lives and spans so many generations that it has been dubbed the State Coffee of Louisiana. We invite you to enjoy this family tradition and experience a little bit of Louisiana in every cup.
The Discovery of Coffee
The legendary story of coffee begins in the Ethiopian highlands around 800
A.D. A goat herder, named Kaldi, observed his herd's interest in eating berries
of a certain tree whereupon they would become excited and spirited for periods
of time. He noticed that after eating the berries his goats did not want to rest
or sleep at night. Kaldi probably experimented with the berries himself - only
to find that he too shared in the goats’ revelry.
Word of this discovery spread to a local monastery. It was there that monks experimented with drinks made from the berries. This ‘brew’ kept them alert and able to continue their writing and prayer long into the night. This began the spread of coffee around the world.
Early Cultivation in Arabia
The cultivation of coffee and the coffee trade began on the Arabian
peninsula. During the 15th and early 16th centuries coffee was being grown,
harvested and traded for consumption throughout Egypt, Syria and Turkey. Yemen
was the primary source for coffee beans during this time and the Arabians
eagerly guarded and protected their increasingly valuable coffee-producing
plant.
Coffee Reaches Indonesia
Soon, however, the coffee plants were transported and successfully
cultivated by the Dutch on the Indonesian island of Java and later to the
islands of Sumatra and Celebes. Through trade and exchange by various European
colonies, greenhouses and botanical gardens in Austria and Holland were soon
speckled with this exotic plant species. The Dutch proved very successful with
this new coffee crop, producing and shipping coffee more cheaply than their
Arabian counterparts to the coffee-craving Europeans.
The Gift that Changed the World
The journey of coffee across the globe to the Americas can be traced back to
the Dutch and their island plantations in Indonesia. The popularity of coffee in
Europe during the 18th century made it a valuable tool for barter and gifting.
Wanting to please the king of France, the Mayor of Amsterdam presented King
Louis XIV with a single coffee tree as a gift. The king planted the tree in the
Royal Botanical Garden in Paris where the heat and humidity replicated the Yemen
climate and the coffee tree flourished.
Across the Ocean to the Americas
Cultivation of coffee in the Americas began during the 1720s when a French
naval officer named Gabriel de Clieu transported a single seedling from the
King’s Royal Botanical Garden to the island colony of Martinique. Though
terrible storms destroyed most of the cargo and nearly sank the ship, de Clieu
protected the vulnerable coffee plant and delivered it safely. Little did he
know that this seedling would become the rootstock for all of the coffee trees
throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.
A Romantic Exchange and Brazil
Today Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee in the world. But the journey
of coffee to this country was nearly as remarkable as that of de Clieu to
Martinique. The French showed little interest in sharing this valuable coffee
crop with other colonial powers in the Americas. In 1727, Brazilian Francisco de
Mello Palheta approached the Governor of French Guiana about obtaining seedlings
and was flatly refused. But the Governor’s wife was taken by the handsome
Brazilian, and as a going away gift gave him a bouquet of flowers with coffee
seeds hidden within. When the seeds arrived in Brazil they were nurtured and
flourished.
The Birth of Coffeehouses
The social qualities of coffee were quickly evident and it became a drink
for many in public places. The original “coffee houses” in the Near East were
similar to those today - a gathering place for conversation, entertainment and
the exchange of ideas among intellectuals while enjoying a good cup of coffee.
By the 17th century, word of the coffee beverage had traveled across the European continent. With increasing demand and the popularity of coffeehouses in England, France, Germany and other countries, coffee became a permanent part of the landscape and daily life. In fact, by the middle of the 17th century, London alone sported between 300 to 2,000 coffeehouses.
Coffee was not immune to controversy during these times, however. During the 13th to 17th centuries a person drinking coffee, or violating coffeehouse restrictions, in the Turkish Ottoman Empire (Turkey) could suffer punishment of severe beatings or even be put to death. When coffee made its way to Italy during the 17th century it was labeled an invention of Satan and condemned by many local clergy. This label was forever lifted when Pope Clement VII tried the beverage for himself, liked it and gave it his approval.
Coffeehouses in New Orleans
The history of coffee and coffeehouses in New Orleans dates back over 200
years. The earliest coffeehouses, or ‘exchanges’ as they were called, were
located on Exchange Alley in the French Quarter. Here businessmen, such as
bankers and importers, would meet to share information and ideas to further
economic development of the fast-growing city on the Mississippi River. By the
1840s, its port was the 4th largest in the world. Located at the gateway to the
Caribbean, New Orleans was the closest port of trade for coffee to enter the
newly formed United States. Development of coffeehouses in the Crescent City was
a natural outgrowth of the coffee trade. By the late 1850s the city directory of
New Orleans listed over 500 coffeehouses!
Community
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