Suzanne Stone, author of a new book titled New Orleans Coffee: A Rich History, will discuss it and sign copies at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and is open to the public. There is no registration.

According to Stone, New Orleans history is steeped in coffee. Outside the Cathedral of St. Louis in Jackson Square, early entrepreneurs like Old Rose provided eager churchgoers with the brew, and it was sold in the French Market beginning in the late 1700s. Café du Monde and Morning Call started serving café au lait more than a century ago. People gathered for business, socializing, politics and auctions at 500 coffee exchanges and shops in the 1800s. Since 1978, myriad specialty coffee shops have opened to meet the demand for great coffee.

Author Suzanne Stone presents the full story of this celebrated tradition, including how chicory became part of the city's special flavor.

Stone is a volunteer docent at the Historic New Orleans Collection and is semi-retired from executive positions in nonprofit organizations. She works as a tour guide, presenting French Quarter, Garden District, culinary history, cemetery and ghost tours, as well as two unique tours: Jewish New Orleans and Women of New Orleans. She is the 2017 recipient of Friends of the Cabildo's Golden Shoe Award. Her previous book is Volunteering Around the Globe: Life-Changing Travel Adventures.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.