The Coffee Break—Running on Caffeine Since 1952

In the best workplaces, coffee breaks go without saying. And if you get to walk to the coffee shop around the corner anytime other than your dedicated lunch break, then you’re one lucky devil. Some jobs only allow for scheduled 10-to-15-minute breaks within your work shift (lame). Still, this could be just enough time to enjoy the unadulterated bliss of a simple black coffee. 

 

Despite the general consensus that your breaks, even coffee breaks, never seem to last long enough, people weren’t always entitled to a midday cup o’ joe. You should be grateful.

The Myth and the Magic

Depending on where you get your information, you can find some contradictory yet weirdly cohesive coffee break origin stories:

• Late 1800s: In Stoughton, Wisconsin, the wives of Norwegian immigrants agree to help sort tobacco in a factory if they are allowed two daily breaks to do housework and have a cup of coffee. Now that’s good negotiating. Locals celebrate the Stoughton Coffee Break Festival to this day.

• 1951: Time Magazine states that the morning coffee break is “entrenched” in U.S. custom, almost like an “inalienable right” for the American worker. Nailed it.

• 1952: Pan American Coffee Bureau releases the well-known advertisement that says, “Give yourself a coffee break—and get what coffee gives to you.” Definitely a win-win.

From the justifiable demands of Norwegian wives to the predictable growth of coffee-related corporate constructs, the coffee break remains a glorious time to refuel and (re)caffeinate.

Why It Stuck

With a workforce fueled by strong coffee and the spirit of the American dream, employers began to witness the benefits of the coffee break (hello, increased productivity). Coffee breaks became an everyday occurrence. This unassuming beverage took offices, factories and boardrooms by storm, like the best thing since sliced bread. It simply became a cultural staple and stuck around ever since.

Modern Coffee Breaks

Nowadays, people drink coffee with reckless abandon all over the world. In fact, the coffee break goes by many names: smoko, morning tea, tea break, Fika and even elevenses, which, surprisingly, is not a term reserved for hobbits or Winnie-the-Pooh. People drink coffee in a variety of weird ways worldwide—here’s to you, Finland, with your cheese curd coffee thing.

No matter how you like to enjoy your coffee, and regardless of the half-finished mugs at your desk, you can always squeeze in another coffee break. Go for a little walk around the block with a can of your favorite cold brew. Hang out beside the vending machine with a thermos full of the most caffeine coffee has to offer. Order a fresh bag of roasted coffee beans from your desk.

Spend your coffee break doing something worthwhile—something that involves more coffee. Fair warning, just like those 10-to-15-minute breaks, it may never feel like enough. But, hey—look on the bright side. You can just look forward to your next opportunity to get what coffee gives you.

About Death Wish Coffee Co.

For a caffeine kick in the pants to get your legs jumping and your heart pumping, you need highly caffeinated coffee from Death Wish Coffee Company. These coffee roasters are on a mission to provide you with the World’s Strongest Coffee. With their amusing blog posts, passionate podcasting and idiosyncratic merchandise offerings, the whole shebang lends itself to a total coffee experience. To enhance the enjoyment factor, Death Wish Coffee Co. uses USDA Certified Organic, Fair Trade Arabica and Robusta beans for perfectly smooth and flavorful coffee with high caffeine that courses through your veins like a bat out of hell. With 300 mg of caffeine per cup, your brain might say that’s enough, but your taste buds will say hit me again.

Take the time to enjoy a cup of strong coffee from Death Wish Coffee Co. at https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/