International Coffee Day

On 1 October, we celebrate International Coffee Day, a global celebration created by the International Coffee Organization, to bring coffee lovers around the world together for a single day dedicated to coffee. With events occurring in places around the world, the day is used to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage. In addition, the occasion is also used to promote fair trade coffee and to raise awareness for the plight of the coffee growers.

The exact origin of International Coffee Day is unknown. A similar event was first promoted in Japan in 1983 by the All Japan Coffee Association. In the United States "National Coffee Day" was mentioned publicly as early as 2005. However, the name "International Coffee Day" was first first celebrated in 1997, by the International Coffee Organization and made into an annual celebration in early April 2001.

Some countries also celebrate their own national coffee days at various dates throughout the year. For example, Ethiopia, often regarded as the birthplace of coffee, celebrates a National Coffee Day on 15 September. 

On 10 March, 2026, the UN General Assembly officially adopted 1 October as International Coffee Day. 

(Source: Wikipedia accessed on 1 October 2026).

Selected publications

Francis, Nick, en Marc Francis, Black gold: wake up and smell the coffee (Amsterdam, 2007).

Gazemba, Stanley, Callused hands (Oakville, 2013).

Hatungimana, Alexandre, Le café au Burundi au XXe siècle: paysans, argent, pouvoir (Paris, 2005).

Koehler, Jeff, Where the wild coffee grows: the untold story of coffee from the cloud forests of Ethiopia to your cup (New York, 2017).

Kouassi, J., Au cœur du mystère: le binôme café-cacao en Côte d’Ivoire (Côte d’Ivoire, 2025)

Melkebeke, Sven Van, Dissimilar coffee frontiers: mobilizing labor and land in the Lake Kivu Region, Congo and Rwanda (1918-1960/62) (Leiden, 2020).

Ponte, Stefano, Standards, trade and equity: lessons from the specialty coffee industry (Copenhagen, 2002).

Rugasira, Andrew, A good African story: how a small company built a global coffee brand (London, 2013).

Vaart, Janet van de, Buna Bet: koffie (Amsterdam, 2006).

Weiss, Brad, Sacred trees, bitter harvests: globalizing coffee in northwest Tanzania (Portsmouth, 2003).

Woldemariam, Bekele, The history of the Kingdom of Kaffa: the birth place of coffee 1390-1935 (Addis Ababa, 2010).