Perk Up and Celebrate National Coffee Day 2012

If the first words out of your mouth every morning are, “I’ll have a large coffee”—or if you can’t even speak until after you’ve had your java fix—there's a national holiday created especially for you.

America will put staunch tea drinkers to shame on National Coffee Day on Saturday, when coffee fiends can rejoice and celebrate their beloved coffee bean with free brew from national chains.

Coffee was first brought to America in the mid-1600s in a shipment en route to “New Amsterdam,” now known as New York, according to the National Coffee Association. We have that shipment and the Boston Tea Party to thank for turning the nation into coffee drinkers.  

Stop for a local cup of coffee in downtown Port to celebrate the day: check out Smith Brothers Cofee House — which is now a part of Duluth Trading company — or Java Dock, which won Readers Choice for best coffee shop. You can also get a free small cup of coffee on Saturday just for the asking at McDonald's in Saukville and in Port Washington.

What’s your favorite blend, and where do you get it? Tell us in the comments.