Coffee Culture New Orleans Book Event at Garden District Book Shop

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Garden District Book Shop will welcome local author Marielle Songy to the shop on Aug. 21 to celebrate the release of her new book “Coffee Culture New Orleans.” 

Starting in the early 18th century, importation was New Orleans’s lifeblood, as coffee and other agricultural goods moved through the city’s port and fanned out to all corners of the emerging nation. New Orleans became the United States’ top coffee importer in the nineteenth century, jockeying for position with larger port cities. As the century progressed, coffee importers and brokers built ever-stronger connections between New Orleans and the national coffee trade.

Modern New Orleans has become more interested in specialty coffee grown on small farms and ethically harvested. Multiple coffee roasters call New Orleans home and import their coffee from small farms in Guatemala, Brazil, and Colombia. The next generation of coffee production is creating a heightened interest in farming practices and sustainability, with coffee consumers gravitating toward brands that provide a living wage to farmers. “Coffee Culture New Orleans” tells the story of the Crescent City’s flourishing coffee traditions from its founding to the present.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. in the shop’s bar space, Bar Epilogue. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so interested parties are encouraged to RSVP and reserve their copies ahead of time on Eventbrite.