A podcast interview with Liz Williams and Isabella Bentz of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFAB) about the exhibit “The Natural Port: A Look at New Orleans Coffee Culture,” on view through October 28, 2024. The conversation includes the history of the coffee trade in New Orleans, a major coffee port since the 18th century.
The exhibition, as well as its great digital offshoot on the Bloomberg Connects platform, intends to recapture some of the attention another American port city has won for its bean scene.
“It kind of rubs you the wrong way that everyone thinks of Seattle as the coffee capital of America,” said Elizabeth Williams, SoFAB founder, podcaster, and prolific author on the rich subject of local foodways. “We have been importing coffee into the Port of New Orleans since the 18th century.”
And not just importing, but roasting, “cupping,” and packaging for global distribution, too.
“We have a great coffee culture,” Williams added. “So, we decided we needed to celebrate it and inform people as they came through.”
This video podcast is produced by Dave Walker for themuseumgoer.com website, which features a blog, free newsletter, and (coming soon) comprehensive overviews of museums throughout New Orleans and the Gulf South.