首先，美國軍隊與咖啡的淵源：
可追溯至獨立戰爭時期（1775–1783）。1773年波士頓傾茶事件後，許多殖民者將飲茶視為不愛國的行為，轉而選擇咖啡作為替代品。咖啡館成為殖民地領袖的重要聚會場所，包括許多開國元勳。
一直到第七任總統 Andrew Jackson 在1832年做了一項重要決策。當時，傑克遜簽署了一項行政命令，指示在軍隊口糧中以咖啡和糖取代原先的朗姆酒、威士忌或白蘭地配給。這一舉措旨在減少士兵中因過度飲酒而導致的不服從和意外傷害，同時提升部隊的精力和士氣。
“From the time of the Revolution through the Civil War, the basis of all Army troop feeding, whether in camp or on the march, was the so-called garrison ration. It consisted of little more than an allotment of bread and meat (occasionally vegetables) and a beverage.
At first that beverage was alcohol. The patriot troops under General Washington did so welcome their allowance of rum, whiskey, and other assorted “spirits.” (A full colonel could receive as much as a half gallon of spirits a week.)
Noting the “deleterious effects” of including all that alcohol in the military diet, the Surgeon General, and later Secretary of War John C. Calhoun began to lobby against its inclusion in the ration. The struggle over this issue continued throughout the 1820s — just as a full-scale Temperance Movement was gaining momentum on the national scene. But no actions were taken.
Then it happened. On 25 October 1832, President Andrew Jackson, impatient with Congress, took matters into his own hands, and signed an Executive Order dictating that coffee and sugar were to be substituted for the allowance of rum, whiskey or brandy. From that day until this, COFFEE has remained a vital component of the U.S. Army soldier’s field ration.”
