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Food and Drink

Coffee Milk: Where Did This Strange Drink Come From?

By Allison Magnus

Published June 25, 2024 at 4:09 PM EDT

Love it or hate it, our state drink isn't as simple as it seems.

Did you know Rhode Island has one of the strangest official state drinks? Surprisingly, most official state drinks in the U.S. are, quite simply, just plain old milk. But Rhode Island took it a step further.

In 1993, the Rhode Island Legislature had to decide between the two most popular Rhode Island drinks, Del’s Lemonade and Coffee Milk, and Coffee Milk slid into the win, due to its insane popularity throughout the state.

Now, for those outside of the state who aren't sure what that is, let me fill you in on the origin of the strange drink because no, it is not “just coffee with milk in it.”

Watch the Instagram Reel below. (And don't forget to follow us.)

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Food and Drink Rhode Island 101

Allison Magnus

Allison Magnus is the Digital Media Manager for Ocean State Media. She runs all of the stations' social media accounts and YouTube channels, creating graphics, thumbnails, reels, and trending promotional content. Allison graduated from The University of Rhode Island with a dual Film and English degree. She has been writing, directing, editing, and producing all forms of media content from short films to social media videos for almost a decade now. Previously, Allison was a radio host and general manager for WRIU 90.3 FM. In her free time, you can find Allison traveling around the world documenting her explorations.

See stories by Allison Magnus