National Coffee Day In Santa Monica: Where To Get Your Joe Fix

SANTA MONICA, CA — For many on the go in Santa Monica, drinking coffee is celebrated seven mornings a week.

But there’s a specific date that is specifically set to highlight one of the world’s most consumed beverages. National Coffee Day is Sept. 29 across the United States and falls on a Wednesday in 2021.

National Coffee Day gives java lovers in Santa Monica another reason to visit one of their local coffee shops.

In and near Santa Monica, local coffee shops include:

• Bardonna, 1601 Montana Ave, Santa Monica
• Blue Bottle Coffee, 2439 Main St, Santa Monica
• Bluestone Lane, 631 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica
• Bulletproof Coffee, 3110 Main St, Santa Monica
• Cafe Bolivar, 1741 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica
• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, 380 Santa Monica Pier Ste 7, Santa Monica
• Coffee Commissary, 1402 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica
• Cora's Coffee Shoppe, 1802 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica
• Demitasse, 1149 3rd St, Santa Monica
• Dunkin' Donuts, 1132 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica
• Dogtown Coffee, 2003 Main St, Santa Monica
• Go Get Em Tiger, 2645 Main St, Santa Monica
• goodboybob coffee, 2058 Broadway, Santa Monica
• Groundwork Coffee Co., 2908 Main St, Santa Monica
• Kafe K, 2209 Main St b, Santa Monica
• Marmalade Cafe, 710 Montana Ave, Santa Monica
• Metro Cafe, 603 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica
• Philz Coffee, 525 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica
• The Pie Hole, 2627 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica
• The Place To Be, 2510B Main St, Santa Monica
• Peet's Coffee, 1401 Montana Ave, Santa Monica
• Primo Passo Coffee Co, 702 Montana Ave, Santa Monica
• Randy's Donuts, 829 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica
• Shoops Delicatessen, 2400 Main St a1, Santa Monica
• Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee, 631 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica
• Starbucks, 3020 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica
• 10 Speed Coffee, 1919 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica
• Urth Caffe Santa Monica, 2327 Main St, Santa Monica

The exact origin of how Sept. 29 (or Oct. 1 in other countries) became National Coffee Day is cloudy, according to a NationalToday.com summary of the country’s long connection with the drink. It points to the 1773 Boston Tea Party as a key moment in U.S. history for when the country, quite literally, dumped tea for coffee.

When the people of the 13 colonies revolted against King George III’s hefty tea tax, “tea was out, and coffee was in,” the summary states.

The United States’ connection with coffee only became stronger in the years to follow. Brothers John and Charles Arbuckle started selling coffee to cowboys in the American West during the mid-1800s, and James Folger introduced the drink to gold miners in California before creating the J.A. Folger & Co. in 1872, according to NationalToday.com.

Other brands still around today, such as Maxwell House and Hills Brothers, eventually entered the coffee market. And Starbucks “changed everything” when it formed in Seattle in 1971, according to the summary.

The U.S. coffee shop market has now grown into a $45.4 billion industry, according to an account that cites the Allegra World Coffee Portal’s 2019 Project Café USA report.

A number of chain coffee shops are expected to offer deals for National Coffee Day, TheSpruceEats.com says.

Among them, Krispy Kreme will offer a free coffee and doughnut on the day, Dunkin’ Donuts a free medium hot or iced coffee with any purchase, and LaMar’s Donuts a free small cup of coffee.

Local 7-Eleven stores will offer 7Rewards loyalty members one free, any size hot coffee - including 7-Eleven’s new fall coffee lineup: Fall Pumpkin Coffee and Pumpkin Spice Latte - with the purchase of a baked good at participating 7-Eleven stores nationwide.

Starbucks also typically offers free samples or cups of coffee on Sept. 29, Coffeeaffection.com reported this year.

Editor's Note: Did we miss a local coffee spot? Let us know in the comments.