Rhode Island History: On This Day - Coffee Milk became the official state drink.

For the non-Rhode Islanders, coffee milk is not an iced coffee. Think chocolate milk, but coffee syrup instead. Well, 29 years ago, the Ocean State named the creation the official state drink.

Nobody knows the exact origin, but sources have traced it back to the 19th century with over 50,000 Italian Immigrants found their home in Providence. They were said to have sweetened their coffee with milk, which led to the invention. Years later at America diners, the first coffee syrup is thought to have been created by a soda fountain operator who sweetened leftover coffee grounds with milk and sugar to create a syrup, then mixed it into glasses of milk.

After the rise in popularity, the first merchant to bottle and sell coffee syrup was D. Abelsen & Son who created an Arabian Brand Coffee Syrup in Grant Mills, Cumberland, RI. 

It wasn't until 1993, where the Rhode Island General Assembly officially made th change. They beat out the popular and well known 'Del's Lemonade'. Nothing beats two hot wieners all the way from Onleyville New York system and a tall glass of coffee milk. Don't knock it until you try it!