Where to Get Free Coffee for National Coffee Day 2012

If the first words out of your mouth every morning are, “I’ll have a large coffee”—or if you can’t even speak until after you’ve had your java fix—there's a national holiday created especially for you.

America will put staunch tea drinkers to shame on National Coffee Day on Sept. 29, when coffee fiends can rejoice and celebrate their beloved coffee bean with free brew from national chains.

Coffee was first brought to America in the mid-1600s in a shipment en route to “New Amsterdam,” now known as New York, according to the National Coffee Association. We have that shipment and the Boston Tea Party to thank for turning the nation into coffee drinkers.  

Many local cafes and businesses are participating in the national celebration.

Some national coffee chains have been giving out free cups of coffee this week.

McDonald's restaurants along the East Coast have been giving away free 12-ounce coffees every day from Sept. 23 through Sept. 29. No purchase is necessary, and coffee is available in the drive-thru or inside the restaurants.

It’s CofFREE Day at 7-Eleven, which means a free large coffee for anyone who stops by a participating 7-Eleven store between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sept. 28.

Dunkin' Donuts, which has nine stores in Peabody, is celebrating over the weekend a little differently -- Dunkin's fans can stop in Saturday or Sunday and pick up a pound of their favorite coffee for $5.99. Participation in National Coffee Day, however, is up to each franchisee, so you may want to check in first to if promotions are in fact being offered.

Starbucks, which has two locations in Peabody, has not announced any plans to celebrate the day with a free cup of joe.

What’s your favorite blend of coffee, and where do you get it? Tell us in the comments.