( Mental Floss ) -- Even in the midst of the Civil War , there was still one thing the North and South shared -- a serious addiction to caffeine . Confederate troops were less likely to get a cup of coffee . In that respect , the Union clearly had an advantage . Not only did the North have more than two-thirds of the population and control most of the heavy industry , railroads , and financial reserves in the country , it hoarded supplies of the highly addictive little bean , leaving the Confederacy to wage its own war against java deprivation . Coffee : It 's what 's for breakfast , lunch and dinner . Throughout the Civil War , coffee was as prevalent on the battlefields as it is in offices today . In fact , the Union army was fueled by the stuff to the point that , if there was no time to boil water , the Boys in Blue would chew on whole beans as they marched . And at night , Union campsites were dotted with tiny fires , each boiling a pot of coffee like a million miniature Starbucks . Beyond caffeine cravings , Union troops loved their coffee because it was , literally , the best thing on the menu . Before the advent of helpful ( and tasty ! ) artificial preservatives , a marching soldier 's rations were neither varied nor particularly appetizing . Typically , they consisted of salted meat , unleavened bread ( accurately christened `` hardtack '' ) , and a little sugar and salt . It did n't help that Union supply chains were riddled with corrupt food contractors who charged the government top dollar for rotten , stale , and insect-ridden foodstuffs . Coffee , however , was almost always fresh because it was delivered in whole-bean form -- making it difficult for even the most dishonest supplier to skimp on quality . Not that they did n't try , of course . In fact , officials began requesting coffee as whole beans after some crooked contractors tried to up their per-pound profits by slipping sand and dirt into packages of ground coffee . In 1861 , hoping to cut down on the time soldiers spent roasting and grinding beans , the army switched to a concentrated proto-instant coffee . The new concoction , called `` essence of coffee , '' was made by boiling prepared coffee , milk , and sugar into a thick gloop , which soldiers then reconstituted by mixing it with water . The product reportedly tasted every bit as bad as you 'd imagine , and thanks to the corrupt dairymen who sold the army spoiled milk , it also tended to cause diarrhea . Needless to say , the Union army was soon back on the bean . Southern discomfort . Noxious as essence of coffee was , Confederate soldiers would have gladly downed a cup or two . But , because of a Union naval blockade , coffee ( along with weapons , machinery , medicine , and other vital materials ) was in short supply in the South . Before the war , a pound of beans would have set you back around 20 cents in Yankee dough . Once pre-war stockpiles ran out , however , the same amount was running as high as $ 60 in Confederate money . ( Despite the undervalued currency , that was still a lot . ) There was some coffee that made it into the Confederacy -- usually carried by steam-powered blockade-runner ships . But , for the most part , Southerners had to rely on coffee substitutes , including various forms of roasted corn , rye , okra seeds , sweet potatoes , acorns , and peanuts . Unfortunately , all these imitations lacked potency , tasted awful , and upset the bowels . The only slightly better alternative was tea made from the leaves of the native yaupon shrub . The good news was that it contained caffeine ; the bad news was that it was incredibly difficult to digest . Luckily , there was one surefire way for Southern folk to get their coffee -- by making peace with the Union . Soldiers on the front lines often called informal truces so Rebels could swap tobacco for Yankee coffee and then dash back to their camps before they were reported missing . E-mail to a friend . For more mental_floss articles , visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright , Mental Floss LLC . All rights reserved .
Coffee was a hot commodity in the Civil War . Union troops had it for breakfast , lunch , dinner . Suppliers sometime ground dirt into beans . Blockade kept coffee had to get for Confederate troops .