Coffee: A Connecticut Story

Coffee:

A Connecticut Story

Coffee is more than a hot drink or a boost of caffeine. For Connecticans, it’s hundreds of years of history. It has fueled new ideas, social reform, and workers’ rights. It is comfort in wartime and connections across cultures. It is universal, yet distinctly Connecticut. Coffee: A Connecticut Story is a multisensory exhibition that explores our state’s coffee connections across time and place. Exhibition on view through January 2026.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Engage your senses as you travel through a series of settings inspired by moments in coffee history. From Connecticut ports ushering in trade from the West Indies, to the birth of the traditional coffee house, to the rise of the integral “coffee break” you know and appreciate today, discover the unexpected role coffee has played in Connecticut over the centuries. Along the way, explore how coffee has affected lives and shaped cultures, and hear from local voices from today’s coffee community.

RELATED EVENTS

Exhibition Guided Tour
Drop in Saturday, December 7 @ 11 am
Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck on-site!

Images left to right: Hartford Rubber Works Cafeteria, Connecticut Museum collection 1995.36.719. Fresh ground coffee at J. René Coffee Roasters, West Hartford, CT.