Coffee, An Agricultural Commodity Revealed Through a New Project
A team at The Henry Ford is well underway on an exciting project funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Staff from our conservation, photography, collections management, registrars and curatorial departments have been working together to process materials currently stored in the museum’s Collections Storage Building. We are focused on the Agriculture and the Environment Collection and related collections that can tell agricultural and environmental stories.
During this two-year grant project, we will conserve, catalog, digitize and rehouse an estimated 1,750 items. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at one of the many artifacts we've already processed that seem simple but reveal complicated agricultural histories. Recent work on a Turkish coffeepot provides a glimpse into the history of coffee as an agricultural commodity.
During the colonial era in America, British regulation over trade goods strained the relationship between colonists and British officials. You’ve likely heard much about tea, but coffee played a role in the resistance too. American ships became involved in the re-export of goods from Latin America through the new United States market, and therefore Americans acquired a taste for coffee as it arrived to them via countries like Brazil. Throughout the Revolutionary era, families ground coffee in their homes using coffee mills. Coffee consumption escalated in America thanks to re-exports in the new market. Once Americans realized the effects of caffeine, coffee became a staple for soldiers, travelers and families alike.
Coffeepot / THF193626
In the early 20th century, Americans enjoyed coffee more than ever. Turkish coffee in particular contains high levels of caffeine produced from a finely ground dark roast. It is made with boiling water in a cezve, a small pot with a long handle and lip for pouring. Consumers of the 1920s felt that Turkish coffee was thicker and more flavorful than the coffee of the past, and many Turkish coffeepots were produced during this era.
Coffeepot / THF193627
A Turkish coffeepot may seem like a simple artifact, just as inventorying, photographing, conserving and researching one might seem like straightforward tasks. But through this IMLS grant, we are often reminded of the deeply intertwined roots of history. Items like this coffeepot can reveal complicated stories about agriculture, production and consumption.
Haven’t quite had your fix? Visit our Digital Collections to learn more about the ample coffee-related artifacts in The Henry Ford’s collection. When you are armed with an understanding of coffee as a trade good, coffee mills, coffeepots and even coffee roasters become more than they first appear.
Kayla Wendt, associate curator at The Henry Ford, is enjoying her work on this IMLS grant project.
