The Military Runs on Coffee – Which Brands do the Troops Prefer?
August 08, 2018
If you ask a service member what keeps them going on a morning without much sleep or a late guard shift, you might expect to get an answer like “Sense of Duty” or “Motivation.” The popular answer, however, is generally coffee.
Coffee has been an integral part of the United States Military since before the country officially formed. After the Boston Tea Party, Americans began to embrace coffee more readily, as drinking tea was considered British and Unpatriotic. From there it became a staple of soldiers fighting in the Civil War, keeping them going on the front lines in the dead of winter and after long marches. This cemented coffee’s place amongst the troops, but didn’t make it as popular as it is now until the first World War.
At the beginning of World War I the Secretary of the Navy, Joseph Daniels, banned alcohol on ships. Sailors soon took to coffee as a replacement, naming it a “Cup of Joe” in honor of the Navy Secretary. This is where the popular drink derives the well-known nickname.
Today coffee is widely available for a service member just about anywhere they might be sent. Coffee vendors have contracts with every major installation. The troops in the field can even get quick, an instant coffee mixture from the MRE’s, Meals Ready to Eat, they’re issued, though the quality of such packets varies wildly…
The question, though, is which brands do the troops prefer most?
Maxwell House and S&D appear to sit firmly at the top of the list. Maxwell House provides coffee for places such as Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Djibouti, Kenya, and Southern Europe. S&D holds the place of most popular in Afghanistan. As for the MRE coffee packets, they come from Folgers, though this has more to do with the way MRE’s are developed, and less with the demands of Service Members.
