Friends, I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t have my cup of coffee in the morning, I wouldn’t have a personality the rest of the day.

I love my morning cup of coffee. I grind the coffee beans myself, I use fresh water — basically, a good cup of coffee is about good chemistry. My father-in-law once told me that I make the best cup of coffee out of everyone in the family (and we are a big family).

See? Big family. And a few folks were missing from this photo, believe it or not.

Anyway.

I run across some interesting things in Emmett’s research. Often, I find ads for products that are still around after 100 years, such as Ivory soap and Van Camp’s Pork & Beans to name a few. It makes me feel good to see that kind of continuity across the decades; it makes me feel more of a connection to my research subject, too.

One such product that is still around is “Postum.” In Emmett’s day, Postum was a popular alternative to coffee.

The Pensacola Journal, June 1915.

This particular ad, right, came out when the prohibition movement was strong, and when Sidney Catts, was running for governor of Florida on the prohibition ticket (and won). Catts was the only governor who ever ran and won on the prohibition ticket, by the way.

I don’t know if today’s Postum product has exactly the same product ingredients as it did during Emmett’s time. You can also read a little history about it here.

I’ve never tried Postum, although for research purposes, I might. Have you tried Postum? If you are a tried-and-true coffee drinker (like me), would you switch from dark roasted Colombian coffee beans to, um, roasted wheat and molasses?

I have tried decaf, but to me, drinking decaf is like drinking black water. I’d just as soon drink regular water.

Emmett does not strike me as someone who would have been a Postum drinker. I believe Emmett would have stuck with the real deal, maybe with a teaspoon of sugar (also the real deal, no saccharine), and a touch of cream. Just the way I take mine.

Categories: Family Florida History

Tagged as: Postum Sidney Catts

jsmith532

Professor,
Communication, Arts, and the Humanities
The University of Maryland Global Campus