Coffee Milk (Northeast)

When I was a graduate student in Providence, Rhode Island, I was struck by the provencal nature of my new home.  With a population of about one million people, Rhode Island often felt like a big small town.  Rhode Islanders spoke their own language, which was English peppered with references to the New England Patriots and Dunkin Donuts.  Me: "Excuse me sir, could you tell me where Firestone is?"   Rhode Islander: "Oh yay, Fiar-stone is two blooocks from where da Dunkin Donuts used to be, next to the new Dunkin Donuts with the Toom Brady post-a in da window."  As an outsider, I quickly learned the entire state is comprised of Dunkin Donuts, so I hadn't a fighting chance of finding ANYTHING when I first moved there.  But, slowly, after four years in Providence, I adapted to the quirks of the Ocean State.  

Rhode Island quirkiness was resplendent in the local treats that people (like my roommate), would exclaim, "That's wicked weird," if you said you had no idea what the hell they were talking about.  Rhode Islanders are proud of its hometown offerings such as hot wieners, awful, awfuls and the topic of this post--coffee milk.

Before Starbucks trained our palates to enjoy coffee ruined, I mean flavored, with sugary syrups and the like, Rhode Islanders enjoyed a make-your-teeth-ache drink called coffee milk. Invented in the 1930s to accompany older favorites like chocolate milk and classic milkshakes, coffee milk was a creative way of using old coffee grounds, milk and lots and lots of sugar.  If you can't tell, I'm not a huge fan of coffee milk as the drink doesn't contain coffee, but syrup, lots and lots of syrup.  Yet, the extreme sweetness of the coffee milk can help to cut the extreme saltiness of a plate of french fries or hot, buttery popcorn.  All good things in moderation...If you are ever in Rhode Island, or another part of Southern New England, try an Autocrat brand coffee milk, then play count the Dunkin Donuts stores.

Happy Drinking!