Riding the Waves of Coffee: First Wave

1800s - 1960 - Coffee historians and professionals often describe the story of coffee consumption in “waves.” Each wave represents a cultural shift in how coffee is valued, produced, and consumed. Depending on who you ask, we are currently living in either the third or fourth wave of coffee, with each stage building on the last.

First Wave: Coffee as a Fuel

The first wave of coffee began in the early 1800s and continued through the mid-1900s. This was the era when coffee became a mass-produced commodity, delivered quickly and cheaply to every office, household, and soldier. The goal was simple: provide a convenient way to consume caffeine and boost alertness. Quality and flavor took a backseat to availability and consistency. Convenience outweighed taste, and coffee was framed as an everyday necessity, a fuel for work and life.

Instant Gratification

In 1938, Nestlé launched Nescafé, the first mass-produced instant coffee. Its popularity skyrocketed during World War II, when it was included in soldier rations around the globe. Instant coffee was light, portable, and reliable, exactly what armies needed. After the war, millions of returning soldiers carried the habit home with them, making instant coffee a staple in kitchens worldwide. Instant coffee remains available today, even in specialty coffee.

Today, coffee has come a long way even in the typically scorned instant coffee market. There are roasters who are now creating craft instant coffees that can be added to water like normal but resemble a decent specialty coffee. There is even a company that makes flash frozen specialty coffee that you can purchase and place in the freezer. When ready you simply pour hot water over the flash frozen capsule to bring a cup of delicious specialty coffee back to life.

First-Wave Milestones

• 1900: Hills Bros. introduced vacuum-sealed tins → longer shelf life, wider reach.

• Percolators and canned coffee defined convenience in American households.

• Big brands like Folgers, Maxwell House, and Nescafé marketed coffee as the drink of the average man or woman, cementing phrases like “cup of joe” into everyday language.

  
  

By the mid-20th century, coffee was pre-ground, vacuum-sealed, often stale, but cheap and accessible. Coffee became a fixture of daily life and a requirement for the American breakfast table. However, it was marketed and used as a means to an end, with no connection to the product and little to no knowledge of how the coffee arrived into the cup.