According to this NPR story of 2002, the coffee break was invented around 1901 in Buffalo either at the Larkin Company or at the Barcolo Company (maker of the Barcolounger)

Wayne Stephens makes this claim: “In 1902, the Barcolo Manufacturing Company in Buffalo, N.Y., started giving its employees coffee breaks. To our knowledge, that was the first time that had ever happened in American industry,” says Stephens, CEO of Barcalounger, the company (now based in North Carolina) that began as Barcolo.

Though the company’s historical records are somewhat sketchy, Stephens cites old newspaper reports quoting a Barcolo executive as saying, “The employees felt like they needed a mid-morning and mid-afternoon break… and one of the employees volunteered to heat the coffee up on a kerosene-fueled hot plate. The employees paid for the coffee… and started taking, obviously with the approval of management, about a 10- to 15-minute, mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee break.”

But elsewhere in Buffalo, historian Stanger makes a coffee break counterclaim. In the ledgers of the now-defunct Larkin Company — a Buffalo firm that started by producing soap, and ended up as a big mail-order house — Stanger found a 1901 entry on free coffee to employees. Larkin and Barcolo did business together, Stanger told Stamberg, so it’s possible that Larkin gave free coffee to workers, but didn’t give them time out to drink it. And it’s possible that someone at Larkin mentioned the free coffee to someone at Barcolo, and Barcolo turned the idea into a coffee break.

Either way, Buffalo invented the coffee break.

http://archives.buffalorising.com/story/gimme_a_coffee_break_1#sca

       Whether you shop for coffee in the grocery store, at the coffee shop or online picking the right roasts for your taste buds can really be confusing. The roast can sometimes be more important than the bean. If  a coffee bean is not roasted enough, it may taste too acidic. Too much can leave you thinking you’ve been sucking on charcoal.  So what does roasting the bean actually do?  When a  coffee bean is roasted, the sugars, fats and starches that are within the bean are emulsified, caramelized and released. This creates the coffee oil. Coffee oil is what gives coffee its aroma and taste. 
      Generally speaking, lighter roasts are sharper and more acidic than the darker roasts. Darker roasts have a fuller flavor, but beans that have been over-roasted will take on a burned, smoky or charcoal flavor. Some say there is less caffeine in the darker roasted coffees than in the lighter ones due to moisture evaporation. I am not sure who to believe, but I’m hoping the caffeine finds it’s way into my bloodstream! Roasting alone doesn’t determine the coffee taste or quality. The origin of the beans makes a big difference. A bean from Columbia will taste differently than a bean from Ethipoia, even if they are both city roast.
     Ok! So here we go with the most common descriptions used to describe coffee roasts:

     Cinnamon
The bean is light brown, and dry (no oil visible). The flavour is baked, almost like the taste of bread or toasted rice. Sour tones are usually present. Cinnamon roasted coffee doesn’t have much body to it. This roast usually is not found frequently.
    New England
This roast is fairly common in the eastern United States, but . It’s a little darker than the cinnamon roast, but without the grainy flavour. New England roast will still have some sour tones to it.
  American, Light
Medium light brown beans. This roast is the norm for eastern USA. This roast (and sometimes cinnamon as well) is the most often used for cupping or professional tasting.
 City, Medium
The colour is darker still, more of a medium brown (think the colour of  chocolate). This roast is common in the western parts of the USA. City medium roast is a good choice to taste the differences between varietals.
 Full City
Medium dark brown beans. The beans will start to show some oily drops on the surface with this roast. Full City will have caramel or chocolate undertones.
 French (also called Espresso)
Beans are starting to get dark brown, and French roasted beans are shiny with oil. There is less acidity, but with burned undertones. This roast is often used when making Espresso. Many people think this is the darkest roast available, but that’s not true.
 Italian (Espresso) or  Dark French
Similar to regular French, but more so. Darker and oilier looking, and with a stronger burned flavour.
 Spanish (Turkish)
Darkest roast of all. Colour is nearly black, and the flavour is flat with a charcoal undertone. This is the roast I always buy when I shop at Blue Mountain Coffee on Elmwood Ave Buffalo NY. Jim roasts the beans in house to this smoky perfection in a cup.

   All this helps when you go to the coffee shop, but what about the grocery store? I was at Wegmans today and bought some (GASP!!) Folgers. Mainstream kitchen classics are getting on the name game, actually expanding their lines. I’m sure it is in some competition to the Starbucks and Green Mountain that is sharing shelf space with them. My purchase was Black Silk, Folger’s darkest roast currently available.
  Here’s a simple cheat sheet for those of us who shop the grocery store: