Is Charlotte A Top Coffee City? National Coffee Day Deals

CHARLOTTE, NC — Seattle, prominent for its java culture, may be doing a slow roast over the results of a new report of America’s best cities for coffee lovers. New York gets the top spot in the analysis, released just ahead of National Coffee Day, which is Saturday, Sept. 29. Charlotte ranked middle of the pack at No. 49 in the nonscientific ranking, based on things like the number of coffee shops, coffee houses and cafés per capita and average price we’re paying here for a pack of coffee.

By comparison, Raleigh, North Carolina fared better than the Queen City for coffee lovers, coming in at No. 32 on the WalletHub ranking. Durham was ranked No. 57 and Winston-Salem came in near the bottom at No. 91.

To celebrate National Coffee Day, several coffee purveyors are offering deals to lure you into their businesses — as if the aroma of a strong cup wasn’t enough. They include chains like Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts (soon to be just Dunkin’), Caribou and others.

Some of those in the Charlotte-metro area include:

• Bruegger’s: Get a free medium coffee with any purchase Sept. 22 through Sept. 29.
• Caribou Coffee: Get a free coffee, any size, on Sept. 29 with the purchase of a food item.
• Dunkin’ Donuts: Buy a hot coffee at participating Dunkin’ Donuts locations and get another hot coffee free. Hot coffee options include Dunkin’s Original Blend, Dark Roast and Dunkin’ Decaf. See details.
• FORTO Coffee: Coffee drinkers throughout the U.S. can order a six-pack of FORTO on FortoCoffee.com for free when they check out using the promo code “COFFEEDAY” and sign up for a “Subscribe and Save” option. (Note: You’ll be able to cancel immediately after ordering for a no-risk commitment.) Plus, Ibotta users can try a shot of FORTO for free at Walmart (initial cost of $1.98 will be reimbursed through the app after purchase). This deal is valid one time per customer. Both deals are available on Sept. 29 12 a.m. through 11:59 p.m. EST.
• Illy Cafe: Use code 5FOR4 in the Illy Cafe online store to receive a free can of coffee when you purchase four. This offer ends Sept. 30 at 9 a.m. EST.
• Keurig: Use code FREEPODS4ME to get two free boxes of K-Cup pods when you buy a K-Elite, K-Select or K-Mini coffee maker. Or, use code SAVEINSEPT to get 15% off pods through Sept. 30.
• Kohl’s: Select Keurig coffee makers are up to $70 off on Kohls.com, while the KitchenAid Nespresso Espresso Machine is up to $100 off.
• Krispy Kreme: Sept. 24 through Sept. 29, Krispy Kreme will offer the new Coffee Glazed Doughnut. Plus, get a free coffee (any size) on Sept. 29 at participating locations. Rewards members get a free doughnut with their free coffee.
• Maui Wowi: Get 50% off your online order on Sept. 29 at Maui Wowi’s online shop with promo code ALOHACOFFEE.
• McDonald’s: Use the McDonald’s app to get these coffee deals. Through Dec. 30, get any size coffee (iced or hot brewed) for just $1 — you must order through the app. Plus, through Sept. 30, order a medium or large McCafe through the McDonald’s app and get another for just 1 cent.
• Pilot Flying J: On Sept. 28 and 29, guests can get a free cup of Pilot coffee (any size) via the myPilot app. You’ll find the offer waiting for you when you open the app on those days.
• Target: Dozens of whole-bean coffee, ground coffee and Keurig coffees are eligible for Drive Up, Target’s curbside loading service.
• Walmart: Get Rollback pricing on select Hamilton Beach at-home coffee machines. Plus, if you need to stock up on ground or whole-bean coffee, a variety of brands are available for free in-store pickup.
• Williams Sonoma: Several at-home coffee makers are marked down, including the Cuisinart Automatic Cold Brew Coffee Maker (currently $85 off) and the KitchenAid Burr Coffee Grinder (currently $80 off).
• World Market: World Market sells coffees from around the world. Use code SAVEBIG10 to get 10% off your order.

There are more, and you can find them here and here.

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Coffee, second only to oil as the most valuable traded commodity worldwide, is a daily staple for 64 percent of Americans 18 and older surveyed in a recent Reuters poll. Americans spend about $48 billion a year on lattes, espressos and other coffee products, according to the personal finance website WalletHub, which put together 2018's Best Coffee Cities in America.

This caffeinated staple of many of our mornings may not just wake us up, but may in fact be good for us, according to studies suggesting that in addition to boosting mental stimulation, caffeine may contribute to longevity if consumed in the right amounts.

And it plays an important cultural role, uniting people around the coffee station at work or at the coffee shop on the corner, and opening a new career field for baristas, who compete in national competitions that include latte art.

Exactly when coffee was discovered is steeped in in mystery and lore, according to PBS, which cites a popular Ethiopian legend about Kaldi, a goat herder who found his “goats frolicking and full of energy after eating the red fruit of the coffee shrub.” He tried it and felt the same burst of energy. Seeing this, a monk took a handful of fruit and shared it with his brothers, making for a sleepless night for the monks.

Coffee plants made it to the New World in the 18th century, and it became a patriotic duty to drink coffee after Massachusetts colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded three British tea ships moored in Boston Harbor and dumped their cargo into the water. Civil War soldiers came to rely on the boost of energy they got from coffee, and by the late 1800s, it had become a worldwide commodity.

Joining New York City and Seattle in the top 10 coffee cities in America, according to WalletHub’s ranking, are San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles.

The bottom five cities for coffee are Fremont, California; Oakland, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia.

The report makes some interesting observations about the geographical differences in our coffee habits. For example:

• Tulsa, Oklahoma, has the lowest average price for a pack of coffee, $3.38, which is 2.4 times lower than in Honolulu, the city with the highest at $8.16.

• Fremont, California, has the highest average annual spending on coffee per household, $186.85, which is three times higher than Cleveland, the city with the lowest at $63.06.

• Gilbert, Arizona, has the highest share of households that own a single-cup/pod-brewing coffee maker, 24.50 percent, which is 2.7 times higher than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest at 8.99 percent.

• New York has the most coffee shops, coffee houses and cafés (per square root of population), 1.1791, which is 17.4 times more than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the fewest at 0.0678.

• Portland, Oregon, has the most coffee and tea manufacturers (per square root of population), 0.0209, which is 41.8 times more than in Riverside and San Bernardino, California, the cities with the fewest at 0.0005.

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