MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Wake up and smell the coffee! Tuesday, Sept. 29, is National Coffee Day and many coffee chains throughout the Midwest are offering freebies and discounts to celebrate.
Some offers may require membership to the chain's rewards program or for you to download their app in order to redeem the freebies or discounts. For other offers, you might need to purchase another menu item to redeem your free or discounted perk.
National Coffee Day 2026 discounts
What to know:
Here is a list of some coffee chains in the Midwest offering deals, discounts, freebies and more to celebrate National Coffee Day.
- Caribou Coffee is offering guests a free medium hot coffee or cold brew with the purchase of any beverage at participating locations nationwide.
- Cinnabon is giving away 1 million free coffees to rewards members who enter the code COFFEEDAY26. The first 1 million to enter the code will get one small hot coffee reward free. You must unlock the reward on the Cinnabon app before Oct. 31, 2026 to redeem it.
- Circle K is offering all members of its reward program, Inner Circle, which is free to join, a free medium coffee, hot or iced, throughout the day.
- Dairy Queen is offering a discount on its new coffee cooler frozen treats through Nov. 1. A small DQ coffee cooler can be purchased at a discounted rate of $3.
- Dunkin' is giving out free medium iced or hot coffees with any purchase through the Dunkin' app throughout National Coffee Day.
- Dunn Brothers Coffee is handing out one free small cold brew or hot coffee to each customer throughout Tuesday.
- Einstein Bros. Bagels is offering a free iced or hot coffee with any purchase Tuesday.
- Gregorys Coffee is giving all rewards members 400 bonus points which can be used to redeem a free drip coffee on the app.
- Jamba is offering $3 small topped blended coffees with either the Buzzin' Mocha Mood or Coffee Dream Machine option.
- Jeff's Bagel Run is giving our free hot or iced coffees at all their locations on Sept. 29.
- Krispy Kreme is offering a free small or medium hot or iced coffee with any purchase. They are also selling their limited-edition glazed coffee-flavored donut.
- Paris Baguette is offering reward members a free hot or iced coffee with any purchase.
- Peet's Coffee is offering medium drip coffees for $0.25 a cup all day on 9/29.
- Pilot is giving all guests a free cup of coffee in any size, including a lineup of new fall-themed flavors.
- Playa Bowls is offering customers buy one, get one free of 20 ounce cold brew coffees.
- Scooter's Coffee is giving out one free medium brewed coffee through their mobile app from Sept. 27 to Sept. 29.
- Smoothie King is giving out free 12 oz. Coffee High Protein Almond Mocha Smoothies to reward members at participating locations nationwide.
- Tim Hortons is giving out a free hot or iced coffee to rewards members at participating U.S. locations.
- Tous les Jours is giving out a free 12 oz. hot brewed coffee via the TLJ App or by ordering in store to redeem the app's coupon.
National Coffee Day history
The backstory:
National Coffee Day is celebrated on Sept. 29 in the United States, but globally, International Coffee Day is recognized on Oct. 1, according to National Day Archives.
The coffee-loving commemoration was first celebrated in 2005, according to the Archives site, but wasn't recognized as a national day until 2009. On Sept. 29, 2009, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans labeled the day as Coffee Day in order to kick off their inaugural New Orleans Coffee Festival, according to National Day Archives.
The U.S. consumes the most coffee in total tons, according to World Population Review. In the U.S., 1,431,000 tons were consumed in 2023.
However, Hong Kong consumed the most coffee per capita at a rate of 43.23 kg per capita, compared to the U.S. rate of 4.17 kg per capita.
The whole world consumes about two billion cups of coffee every day, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Today, most coffee is grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, with much cultivation focused on countries surrounding the Equator. Different regions, terrains, climates, and altitudes produce different types of coffee with their own unique flavors and varieties.
HIstory of coffee
Dig deeper:
Coffee culture first developed in the Arabian Peninsula between the 15th and 16th centuries, according to the National Coffee Association. People began cultivating and trading coffee there for the first time, and by the 1400s, coffee was being grown in present-day Yemen.
By the 1500s, coffee gained popularity in modern day Iran, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. People began drinking coffee at home and in now-popular public coffee houses that began springing up throughout Southwest Asia and North Africa.
According to the National Coffee Association, coffee houses were becoming so important culturally and socially in those regions at the time that they were referred to as "schools of the wise", as people exchanged information there.
Coffee eventually made its way to Europe by the 1600s, but it wasn't initially given such a warm welcome. Clergy in Italy even initially condemned the drink to the point that the pope of the time was asked to intervene. However, it is said that after he tried the beverage himself, he gave it papal approval.
Despite some pushback, coffee eventually gained European approval and coffeehouses began popping up across major cities in England, Austria, France, Germany, and Holland. They mirrored the culture of coffeehouses, known as qahveh khaneh in Farsi, in Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Coffee then made its way to Asia, beyond the Southwest region, in the 1650s. The Dutch planted coffee tree seedlings there successfully in present-day Indonesia before expanding their cultivation to the islands of Sumatra and Sulawesi.
By the 18th century, coffee was planted in the Americas. King Louis XIV of France ordered a coffee tree to be planted in Martinique, where the tree thrived. That tree gave forth the saplings that would later go on to be planted throughout the Caribbean, South, and Central America.
In the 1700s, coffee then replaced tea as the favored drink in the British Colonies, now known as the United States. King George III's infamous tax on tea helped push coffee forward as the favored beverage.
By the 19th century, coffee had made its way throughout much of the world and had become one of the world's most profitable crops. To this day, coffee remains one of the most consumed beverages on earth and has a vibrant, diverse culture of consumption worldwide.
The Source: Information for this article comes from various statements, press releases, and official social media posts by participating companies in National Coffee Day promotions. Additional information comes from The National Day Archive, a website that tracks celebratory days around the world, as well as World Population Review, Smithsonian Magazine, and the National Coffee Association. This story was written from Eden Prairie, Minnesota by Maureen Breslin.