1928 Maxwell House Ad With Mrs. Filibuster

The first time I saw this ad I thought to myself,"self, what is a winy coffee?"  Is this a coffee that sounds like Jerry Lewis?  Perhaps it complains too much about being ground up and thrown into hot water?  Perhaps it sounds like Al Sharpton whenever he's outraged over something.  Well you sort of get an answer is you read the ad itself.  Apparently "winy" coffees were the acidic coffee beans imported from Arabia.  Well that sort of explains it, winy in this sense must have been an older way of saying tannic, since this ad is from 1928.  Apparently Maxwell House was made of a mix of over 100 different coffees from tropical countries.  Quite the mix actually.  Also the artwork is quite interesting to spin a story off of.  Mrs. Filibuster has not been feeling well lately.  Her investments have taken quite the loss ever since the real estate market fell through in Florida.  "Never you mind Mrs. Filibuster," her account says, "We'll make up the loss in the stock market.  It's going up like a rocket and we just can't lose..."

Ad: Eight O'Clock Coffee

1958 A&P Eight O'Clock Coffee

Ah, coffee in the morning what could be better?  How about coffee and chicory?  Adding chicory to coffee is a New Orleans tradition since time immemorial.  It started during the French Revolution when coffee imports were less due to the British blocade so the French took to roasting chicory, a native of the endive family, grinding it up and adding it to coffee.  It added a sweet flavour and has a laxative quality when drunk in larger amounts.

The Love Boat Now Serving Maxwell House Coffee

It's not really the love boat but I got your attention now, or perhaps you ran away screaming at the mere mention of that old sitcom.  I found this ad to be interesting because Maxwell House coffee ads never depicted ships.  Usually it was some domestic dinner scene because back in the old days people used to drink coffee morning noon and night.  I suppose Maxwell House was a better brand back then, it certainly was famous enough, but I wouldn't touch it.  I prefer my coffee fresh ground and even though the Maxwell House Factory is here in town I still prefer a better grade of coffee in my morning cup.  I admit it, I'm a coffee snob.  I also have a preference for New Orleans style coffee with chicory.  There's something about drinking a good chicory coffee that just makes the coffee so smooth.  Besides, that Maxwell House stuff they sell in the stores, how long has it been sitting on the shelf?  There's also a very good reason coffee is the high selling point of an SS Leviathan voyage.  It was 1923 and prohibition was is full swing.  No alcohol was allowed to be served on US registered vessels plying the 7 seas (that sucks).