New England Coffee Milk

While I was sitting in my abstract painting class today my professor, Molly, started sharing some of her memories from growing up in New England. She was sharing that there are so many Portuguese people living in New England because they migrated to southern New England in the 19th century to work in the whaling industry and how that has affected the local flavor of the area. She didn't know until she moved away from N.E. that it is the only place where you can actually get Linguiça sausage pizza at Dominoes. I thought that was interesting, but the real gem of her childhood memories came next..

Molly mentioned that as a kid in the lunchroom at school they not only had the option of regular or chocolate milk but were offered a unique third choice... coffee milk. Apparently Molly and the rest of her fellow Rhode Islanders have a strong love for this unique concoction! As far as she knew, coffee milk is only consumed in the New England region and to those who live there, it is as well known as clam chowder! Coffee milk is essentially like chocolate milk, except instead of chocolate syrup it is made with coffee-syrup! Sounds good to me!

Here is what wikipedia had to say about 'Coffee-milk':

Coffee milk was introduced to Rhode Island sometime in the early 1930s. It came about from creative diner and drugstore operators trying to attract new customers with creative drinks. One of these operators, who is lost to history, sweetened leftover coffee grounds with milk and sugar. This created a molasses-like extract that became popular. Coffee milk became a favorite among Rhode Islanders and created a demand for this coffee syrup. The demand was so great, that in 1993, it beat out Del's Lemonade as the official drink of Rhode Island.

Guess I'm learning something in my painting class!!