The maritime profession is as diverse as the United States Coast Guard interdicting international drug smugglers, or the United States Navy and Marines working together to create a strong military presence in foreign seas, to Merchant Marines commanding ships carrying passengers in and out of international waters. Though they have different training and goals, there are many things that link these services, such as experiencing exhilarating foreign cultures in new port of calls or the feeling of pulling back into home port and seeing your family after a long stretch at sea. A group of individuals with a common goal, cannot be resilient without something that unifies and creates an atmosphere of collaboration. There is strength in unity, a lesson society has learned through many wars and conflicts. What is the most important item that brings a sense of belonging to a crew from all over the world? What is a mutual element that has the power to strengthen a collection of hard working, sea-going individuals with a common goal? In addition to essential items such as fuel, food stores, and a competent crew, we cannot survive at sea without one single most critical staple: coffee. Coffee has been a maritime necessity since shipping and trading began in the new world—since the creation of the Revenue Cutter Service even before the production of the Navy’s first metal ship. A single cup of morning coffee is scientifically proven to improve mood, vigilance, and energy levels while also generally improving overall physical performance by 11 percent on average.[i] This caffeinated beverage is the backbone of the maritime profession; it is the item responsible for its strength and fortification throughout its many branches and departments.
In the 1800s, the Navy used rum or wine rations to dilute stale and molded water supplies onboard ships. Liquor rations served a genuine purpose during these days: to encourage crew hydration. This was a practice unheard of among American merchant sailors. Merchant Marines aligned their mission values differently, and even awarded bonuses to sailors who went the duration of deployments without consuming spirits. Instead, Merchant Marines relied heavily on coffee as a beverage for energy, enjoyment, and community. It was their beverage of comfort morning, afternoon, and night, resulting in coffee being deeply rooted in their history.
In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson selected Joseph Daniels to be the Secretary of the Navy. Among his many intrepid and outstanding decisions, Daniels is credited with officially eliminating wine in the officer mess. Without wine on board, coffee became the strongest and most desired beverage onboard, lending itself to be a “cup of Joe” after the secretary. According to naval tradition, the correct way to brew shipboard coffee is two scoops of coffee grounds to one “pinch” of salt, which removes bitterness from especially pure coffee. This is a practice still frequently used today to improve the taste of government purchased wholesale coffee. The humble fact that there is a traditional recipe for simple cup of coffee proves its importance among a naval crew.
Most shipboard culinary specialists will agree that coffee is a significant factor in crew efficiency and morale at sea. Unlike in the 1800s, modern day ships choose to provide quality coffee over quantity. Chief Culinary Specialist Ryan B. Pritchett of Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, homeported in Boston, Massachusetts, chooses to purchase coffee products from local vendors, even though they typically cost up to three dollars more per pound than the average wholesale provider. He believes buying from local vendors ensures that crews get a higher quality of coffee and improves relations between sailors and their local communities.
Onboard most large ships there is a tradition in officers’ and chiefs’ messes. Upon earning their position in these messes, members are often presented with a mess coffee mug, which are typically gold rimmed and display the respective mess’s emblem. This longstanding tradition encourages unity and inclusiveness—and it begins at a coffee mug. When unity is present in the officers’ or chiefs’ mess, the group’s leadership force is strengthened. Publlius Syrus, a Latin literary during in the Roman Empire, once said “Victory waits upon unity of action.”[ii]
Coffee is also an important element in port calls. When mariners pull into foreign locations, local coffee shops are usually the first and most frequented stop. It is a gateway to experience indigenous culture. Experiences can vary from trying locally grown coffee beans at a small café in Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, to watching your coffee being slow roasted in Reykjavik, Iceland. In a more contemporary setting, local cafes provide caffeine to recharge and internet access to sailors who are looking to reconnect and update family members. This is a habit most mariners can relate and sympathize with. There is deep satisfaction in sitting down with a hot cup of homegrown, fresh coffee and calling or writing to someone they’ve been missing. These hubs of entertainment and connection create a family atmosphere and improves morale and well-being. Opportunities to recharge and reconnect can impact the mental health of sailors, allowing them to continue their time at sea with determination and focus.
There are differences among modern day maritime professions, but there is a common theme throughout these services and their histories: coffee. It keeps sailors moving. It gets entire crews out of bed in the morning. It creates conversations in the mess after evening meals underway. All of which creates social connection and equality, fortifying a workplace. From midnight watches to stand, thorough training to conduct, midnight meals to cook, and rescue missions conducted in early morning hours, all professional mariners can agree on the significance of a cup of Joe. Lieutenant William Whiting, an Army officer during the Civil War, is quoted as saying “Give a frontiersman coffee and tobacco, and he will endure any privation and suffer any hardship.”[iii] Give a ship’s crew a fresh pot of coffee, and they can endure any midnight watch and any patrol at sea.
The effect of coffee on professional mariners extends even to retired and ex-sailors, uniting current and former members to create an even more extensive network. There are several newly emerging veteran owned coffee companies such as Victory Coffee, a coffee company founded in 2015 by a former Navy Seal. Cade Courtley, veteran Navy Seal and owner of Victory Coffee, is quoted as saying “and no matter how dangerous and miserable the situation was; like those who served before us, we always had that warm cup of coffee. This became our sanctuary.”[iv] The Navy Joe Coffee Company was founded by a Navy Veteran, with over 23 years of time in service, and features unique brews such as “Bosuns’ mate brew” and “Snipe Juice.”[v] Coffee had become such an engrained part of these members’ lives during their service in the maritime field, that they capitalized on it and used it to transition to and thrive in the civilian world. These veteran-owned coffee companies frequently sell to current mariners, creating a positive relationship and a bond between active and retired sailors.
Things have changed. Ships carry clean, filtered water and alcohol is prohibited. Instead of salt to cut the bitterness, most bulk coffee is cut with chicory. Sailors bring French presses and Keurig coffeemakers underway to ensure the highest quality and most personalized coffee experiences. Although about this maritime brew has changed, the concept of coffee has not. Coffee strengthens the maritime profession by uniting mariners regardless of education, agency, or rank. It unfailingly provides the caffeine sailors need to stay energized during mundane watches and keep vigilant during lengthy stretches at sea. Over hundreds of years at sea, coffee has connected and strengthened the maritime profession.
Endnotes
[i] Kris Gunnars, “13 Health Benefits of Coffee, Based on Science,” Healthline, 20 September 2018, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee.
[ii] Publius Syrus, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus: a Roman Slave, translated by Darius Lyman (Enhanced Media, 2016), 36.
[iii] General William Henry Chase Whiting, “March from El Paso to San Antonio,” diary entry, in Publications of the Southern History Association (Washington D.C., The Association, 1902), 288.
[iv] Courtley Cade, “Our Story,” Victory Coffee, https://www.victorycoffees.com/our-story.
[v] “How We Got Started,” The Navy Joe Coffee Company, https://navyjoe.coffee/about.
