# 1950s/1960s: What was it about coffee? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [December 27, 2025, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088 "2025-12-27T10:24:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/61 "2025-12-28T12:33:49Z")
I think you’re really onto something with this theory. I also think there’s a lot of synergy between heavy nicotine consumption / addiction and heavy caffeine consumption / addiction. Whether that’s psychological, physiological, or a bit of each I can’t say. But overuse of both really seems to go together like PB&J. And the 1950s & 60s were sure the era for that. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/62 "2025-12-28T13:00:58Z")
> studied how drugs impact the cognitive effects of drugs on the geometry of orb spider webs. They should study how drugs impact the cognitive effects of drugs on the syntax of web writers. Or was that just plain old sleep deprivation? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/63 "2025-12-28T15:21:36Z")
My MIL drank a great deal of coffee. She was addicted to it to the point where she was unable to sleep without her evening cup, because otherwise she’d have withdrawal symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/64 "2025-12-28T15:43:14Z")
Well they’re both stimulants and both addictive. It makes sense. That said the coffee that I remember being drunk in my parents’ house was pretty watery by modern standards. It looked almost tea like. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/65 "2025-12-28T15:51:04Z")
My wife’s family to this day make coffee after dinner at every family holiday gathering. I don’t mind a cup before the drive home, and if I’m not driving I might take my coffee with a splash of Bailey’s 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/66 "2025-12-28T18:36:55Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The big consumer brands (Maxwell House, Folgers, Chase and Sanborn, etc.) had largely switched from arabica beans to the more-bitter robusta beans, initially during the war (due to availability), but afterwards, because robusta beans were cheaper. The net was that American coffee had become bitter and nasty, but people who were already coffee drinkers didn’t really notice (or care much about) the switch, as (AIUI) it had happened gradually. This has been a super interesting thread, especially this nugget. > [@Lumpy](#): > > I’ve tried to drink coffee, but unless it’s just that I have never tried good coffee I can’t stand it, even loaded with cream and sugar. I’m very sensitive to bitter flavors to the point where I can’t eat green vegetables unless they’be been cooked beyond recognition. Me too! Also pretty much anything with alcohol as well as chocolate which I think is for the same reason. My 87 year old mom always gets coffee after dinner at a restaurant. I’d never really thought much about it but it’s for sure something of her generation. I went to college in the 80s before the rise of Starbucks. There were a couple coffee houses which served the good stuff but those places were for pretentious hipsters. Then in 1986 or so, they opened a nice coffee house on campus. Most of us had never had good coffee before or even heard of lattes, cappuccino or espresso let along tried it. In classic drug dealer fashion, the place was free of charge for a couple of weeks. The whole campus was wired to the gills and the new generation was hooked. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/67 "2025-12-28T22:42:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Whenever my parents hosted a dinner party it almost always lasted until midnight and included card playing and television watching. Alcohol drinking was done but not heavily by anyone. > > Around 11 or so a snack was served and my mother did indeed percolate (the worst way to make coffee, BTW) a pot of coffee and everyone except my Pop drank it (he didn’t drink coffee). Then around 12 people started leaving. Right, but at my folks place, no TV watching, stereo music, gossip and pinocle , and other card games. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > American coffee, like American beer, is famous worldwide for being like fucking in a canoe: bloody close to water. Percolated coffee has quite high caffeine content. More that drip or french press. Espresso has more % wise, but generally people dont drink espresso shots straight. A cup of percolated coffee has more caffeine than a flat white for example. Now if you want to say craft coffee _tastes_ better, that is a different point altogether. 5_0’s 60s percolated American coffee was strong,_ just not a craft brew- but since they drank gallons of it, things were different. > [@TruCelt](#): > > The strongest coffee is made by a percolator, averaging 155mg per cup. I don’t know about cold brew or french press, but if it’s brewing longer, it ought to be even stronger. French press is less. Percolate is maybe 200mg per cup. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Because they couldn’t show people drinking high balls all day, which is actually what people did. Not in my day. Parent parties late 50s early sixties did have drinking, but “day drinking” or non-social drinking- except to beer of course- was looked down upon. > [@Chefguy](#): > > I think you and your compatriots are relying on old memes as fact. I buy, brew and drink Ethiopian coffee made with an espresso machine. Yep. Mind you- American beer made for “mass consumption” was just that-beer for drinking and quenching a thirst. There were a few craft beers, sure, but they didnt become popular until recently. I mean Budweiser is the most popular beer in Canada, and San Miguel in England. You gotta get to Germany before the most popular beer is a quality brew. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Quite possibly, though I wasted a lot of breath in the past trying to convince my fellow Americans that all French women don’t stink, German food is NOT horrible, German food is quite good, but English food used to be even worse than 50’s-60s-70s American food. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m not a smoker, but it’s my impression that smoking, especially if you do it constantly, tends to dry out one’s mouth, so people may have wanted something to sip on. And soft drinks weren’t consumed in nearly such large quantities back then. And smoking ruins your sense of taste and smell. You didnt know the food and the coffee was that bad. True about the soft drinks. Coke came in 7oz bottles, Pepsi was 12oz, and Mother was right- it would “ruin your appetite”. Now with HFCS people gulp 32 ouncers, and then two double bacon cheeseburgers with extra large fries. > [@sb1953](#): > > Scientists gave hard drugs like LSD and meth to spiders and they still functions. When they dosed them with caffeine they could not weave a web. I think you misremembered the study- > **[Spiders on LSD take a tangled trip: from the archive, 4 October 1971](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/oct/04/spiders-lsd-drugs-experiment-1971)** > > Originally published in the Guardian on 4 October 1971: Drugs experiment makes stoned spiders spin webs which are both ugly and inefficient at catching flies _Under relatively high stimulating doses of amphetamines the spiders tried to build webs at their normal frequency but the result was “highly irregular and unstructured.” The webs lost their orbital shape, looked random in construction, and were “ineffective” as traps._ Very high LSD doses “completely disrupted” web building. Some spiders stopped spinning altogether. But another study did show not very good webs under caffeine- > **[An old NASA study gave spiders drugs to see how it affected their webs](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-powerful-is-caffeine-nasa-spider-web-study-2019-5)** > > NASA researchers exposed spiders to different chemicals, like caffeine and weed, and noted how differently they spin webs under the influence of each. OTOH, humans are not arachnids. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Smokers can tolerate some pretty nasty tasting coffee. I’m convinced the good stuff didn’t become readily accessible in the US until a critical mass of nonsmoking adults was achieved. You could well be right. Also why the food back then was terrible. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/68 "2025-12-28T23:48:43Z")
Coffee in the late 50’s was probably percolated. I find perc coffee more bitter. Drip became popular in the 70’s. Mr. Coffee made it much easier. I can’t remember if they had scenes with Laura making coffee or pouring from a percolator. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/69 "2025-12-29T00:18:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > German food is quite good, but English food used to be even worse than 50’s-60s-70s American food. I agree that many of the native English dishes are not my. . .er. . .cup of tea. But the Indian food there is quite good, or at least it was on my last visit, which was probably 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/70 "2025-12-29T00:18:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Percolated coffee has quite high caffeine content. Depends on the ratio of coffee to water. Standard with the early percolators was 2 to 3 tablespoons with two cups of water. Instructions manual below. > **[02822\_72\_875H\_SCM\_Eng\_Web\_Instructions%5B3%5D.pdf](https://www.gopresto.com/uploads/02822_72_875H_SCM_Eng_Web_Instructions%5B3%5D.pdf)** > > 327.41 KB That was coarse ground but using my coffee I get that at 15 g plus minus a bit. Two cups of water is 480 g. Ratio 1:32. Give or take. Current ratios? Usually [1:16ish](https://methodicalcoffee.com/blogs/coffee-culture/coffee-to-water-ratio-the-ultimate-guide-to-brewing-ratios?srsltid=AfmBOoqgyRqTkKFYCMNKsJXI57KqMlZR7QOkeMHAG2jbU6AyDlIotZhA). So yes, percolation extracts more caffeine per unit coffee (along with more of the bitter elements). And possibly because it was comparably more bitter than today’s drip or French Press methods, roughly half as much coffee was used per unit of water. Hence my memory of my parents’ coffee looking so … transparent. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/71 "2025-12-29T00:25:15Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Hence my memory of my parents’ coffee looking so … transparent. [slight tangent] Weak, watery coffee is called “Blümchenkaffee” in Germany. The word means “little flower coffee”, and it derives from traditional coffee set makers printing their logo, a little flower, at the bottom of the cups. So if you brewed the coffee with too much water, you could see the flowers at the bottom through your cup of coffee. There’s also the word “Blümchensex”, but don’t get me started on that 😂…[/slight tangent] ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/72 "2025-12-29T03:01:43Z")
I thought the original quote was “a mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems”. From Alfred Renyi. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/73 "2025-12-29T03:24:53Z")
I remember going to grocery stores with my parents in the 70s. Even A&P had a public grinding device beside the coffee beans, which smelled great, and which people would use to grind their bag of Chock Full O’ Nuts before taking it home. It occurred to me the other day I hadn’t seen a grinder in grocery store aisle for decades. Maybe since they probably only cleaned it sporadically. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/74 "2025-12-29T03:27:37Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It occurred to me the other day I hadn’t seen a grinder in grocery store aisle for decades. I remember seeing the grinders in grocery stores when I was a kid, and I, too thought that the grinder smelled really good – which was weird, because I thought that coffee tasted terrible. I suspect that maintenance costs, as well as the prevalence of (a) ground coffee in the stores and (b) home coffee grinders, made them obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/75 "2025-12-29T03:28:33Z")
They’re at my local coops. Maybe at Whole Foods? Maybe at Haggen? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/76 "2025-12-29T03:32:02Z")
Fancy Whole Foods-like places have grinders for their bulk coffee beans. Certainly not the iconic cast iron flywheel designs we recall from the 1960s, but public-use grinders nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/77 "2025-12-29T03:41:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Fancy Whole Foods-like places have grinders for their bulk coffee beans. I stand corrected; I don’t think I’ve ever been in the coffee aisle at Whole Foods. ---
**Author:** ![Cachalot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@Cachalot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cachalot)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/78 "2025-12-29T04:23:12Z")
Coming of age in the 70’s, I never had a BAD experience with coffee, but I can recall drinking Dunkin’ Donuts coffee back then and thinking it was the best coffee I had tasted. I wonder if that was because DD had switched to Arabica beans while others had not. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/79 "2025-12-29T04:30:49Z")
In Rhode Island, where there seemed to be a Dunkin’ Donuts on every corner, I would have a coffee regular (“regula”), which was a coffee with a lot of cream and sugar. Delish. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088/80 "2025-12-29T04:50:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > On a family show like Dick Van Dyke, it certainly projected a cleaner image than drinking alcohol. I suspect that’s the real answer. Having DVD drinking beer or Manhattans wouldn’t quite have fit the image the show was trying to portray, and something like Coke or Pepsi would have required sponsorship. Coffee was non-alcoholic, common, and non-branded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-1960s-what-was-it-about-coffee/1026088.md?page=5)