How Coffee Milk Became A New England Staple

Small but mighty, Rhode Island is no stranger to unique food and beverage offerings, including the topping-laden "hot weiner" sold throughout the state — but coffee milk, a deliciously simple combination of sweet coffee syrup (think a java-infused version of chocolate syrup) and milk, is particularly beloved among its children and adults. The drink is similar in flavor to treats like the Italian affogato, which involves drowning ice cream in espresso, and for many years, it was offered as a beverage option in Rhode Island school lunchrooms.

The New England origins of coffee milk are mostly unknown, and the stuff of legend. Some claim that the drink was invented by a Rhode Island "soda jerk" to appeal to his youngest customers (who felt grown up drinking a coffee-flavored beverage), while others believe that a diner owner was trying to get more mileage out of the day's coffee grounds by pouring milk over them to steep. The local Italian-American immigrant population is also credited with popularizing the drink.

Regardless of its origin, New England diners began serving coffee milk somewhere between the 1920s and 1930s, with commercially available coffee syrups hitting the market around the same time. Rhode Island deemed this local favorite its official state beverage in 1993, with Del's Lemonade as a close runner-up.

Ready to mix up your own coffee milk at home? There are still very few coffee syrups sold to the public, but they are available online if you (unfortunately) live outside of New England. Eclipse Coffee Syrup was one of the first to hit the market in 1938, with Autocrat Coffee Syrup following close behind — you can purchase a pint of both on Amazon for around $15 each. Autocrat actually purchased Eclipse in 1991, but continues to produce and market the two brands separately. Autocrat is often described as having a sweeter, milder flavor than the bolder Eclipse brand; both are still packaged with a vintage look. Dave's Coffee also sells its own coffee syrup, and Trader Joe's has been rumored to offer its own version from time to time.

Coffee syrup isn't just for coffee milk, either. This sweet syrup is perfect for adding to cocktails, drizzling over ice cream, topping tiramisu, basting meats before grilling, and more. Truth be told, coffee lovers can substitute coffee syrup in just about any recipe that calls for chocolate or strawberry syrup. For instance, you can put a fresh spin on New York's egg cream (which, ironically, contains neither egg nor cream) by simply adding seltzer water to coffee milk for a fun beverage with ice cream float vibes.