# Cowboy shows and coffee. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [May 1, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383 "2018-05-01T01:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/21 "2018-05-01T19:40:54Z")
Coffee-related anecdote - I just finished a science fiction trilogy written by a Navy man. The protagonist was ALWAYS drinking coffee, getting coffee, or wondering if there was coffee made. I’d guess he didn’t wash his cup, either. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/22 "2018-05-01T20:37:32Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > You use your tongue prettier than a 20 dollar whore! You’ve got to remember that I am just a simple farmer. A man of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… . 😛 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/23 "2018-05-01T21:42:20Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Coffee-related anecdote - I just finished a science fiction trilogy written by a Navy man. The protagonist was ALWAYS drinking coffee, getting coffee, or wondering if there was coffee made. I’d guess he didn’t wash his cup, either. Was the coffee made with a pinch of salt? That’s REAL Navy java! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/24 "2018-05-01T21:49:40Z")
\*\*This \*\*might be of interest to some: "The best cup of coffee you'll ever drink." ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/25 "2018-05-01T22:02:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Was the coffee made with a pinch of salt? That’s REAL Navy java! 🆒 My Daddy, career Marine, put salt in his coffee. A tiny pinch. It’s the only way as far as I am concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/26 "2018-05-01T22:06:10Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Not everyone has trouble sleeping after coffee. That’s probably especially true if you just worked 14 hours on the ranch. People used to always drink coffee after the evening meal, or after a post-dinner card game or whatever with friends. A few people drank Sanka, but just about everyone drank real coffee. It’s only recently that NOT drinking coffee in the evening became a thing. So yeah, of course cowboys drank coffee. Of course. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/27 "2018-05-01T22:13:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > There was nothing else to drink with their meals (except maybe sage tea)? _Tea!?_ Get mah rope!! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/28 "2018-05-01T22:20:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Well, if you’re asking why they do it on old TV shows it’s to create atmosphere or so the actors have something to do while their conversation is providing exposition or advancing the plot. Also, 1) **it’s almost certainly not real coffee** , and 2) to save money, they may have be filming “day for night” and no one is actually going to go to sleep right after shooting the scene.🙂 Long ago, watching _ **The Dick van Dyke Show** _ (first run), my mother and my older brother got into a heated argument over whether Rob was actually drinking coffee or just pretending. “You know, there isn’t really any coffee in that cup.” “Yes, there is.” “No, there isn’t.” “Yes, there is. I saw it. [INDICATING A POINT ON THE TV SCREEN] It came up to _here_!” “_No, there **isn’t**!_” I swear, this went on for three or four minutes. It would have been comical, if my brother hadn’t been right. There \*was \*coffee in the cup; I saw it too, but I was afraid to say anything. Even more bizarre: We were watching a rerun of the episode several months later, and they had exactly the same argument. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/29 "2018-05-01T22:26:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > _Tea!?_ > > Get mah rope!! Hey, lotsa things growin’ out there wild to sample! :o ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/30 "2018-05-01T22:36:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Long ago, watching _ **The Dick van Dyke Show** _ (first run), my mother and my older brother got into a heated argument over whether Rob was actually drinking coffee or just pretending. > > “You know, there isn’t really any coffee in that cup.” > > “Yes, there is.” > > “No, there isn’t.” > > “Yes, there is. I saw it. [INDICATING A POINT ON THE TV SCREEN] It came up to _here_!” > > “_No, there **isn’t**!_” > > I swear, this went on for three or four minutes. It would have been comical, if my brother hadn’t been right. There \*was \*coffee in the cup; I saw it too, but I was afraid to say anything. > > Even more bizarre: We were watching a rerun of the episode several months later, and they had exactly the same argument. :smack: There may have been _liquid_ in the cup, but it wasn’t necessarily coffee. On the old _Jackie Gleason Show_ they used to do a segment in which he would do a monologue sitting in a chair while drinking a beverage from a coffee cup. He would sip from it and then roll his eyes and say “Mmmmm. That’s good coffee!” Everybody knew it wasn’t coffee, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/31 "2018-05-01T22:36:58Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > People used to always drink coffee after the evening meal, or after a post-dinner card game or whatever with friends. A few people drank Sanka, but just about everyone drank real coffee. It’s only recently that NOT drinking coffee in the evening became a thing. So yeah, of course cowboys drank coffee. Of course. So TV cowboys were imitating 1960’s life. Probably with commercials for Maxwell House, “good to the last drop”. I do recall my parents serving coffee to guests after dinner. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/32 "2018-05-01T23:39:17Z")
“Big Joe never asks for a second cup of coffee on _my_ cattle drive.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/33 "2018-05-02T00:13:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There may have been _liquid_ in the cup, but it wasn’t necessarily coffee. > > On the old _Jackie Gleason Show_ they used to do a segment in which he would do a monologue sitting in a chair while drinking a beverage from a coffee cup. He would sip from it and then roll his eyes and say “Mmmmm. That’s good coffee!” Everybody knew it wasn’t coffee, of course. 😃 Sure looked like coffee to me. OTOH, Dick did battle alcoholism at one point, so who knows? Once on _ **The Tonight Show** _, Carol Wayne (the hot “Matinee Lady”) took a sip out of Johnny Carson’s ever-present coffee mug. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “There’s \*whiskey \*in there!” ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/34 "2018-05-02T00:17:18Z")
We also make our coffee a LOT stronger than folks did back then. Coffee beans were dear, and had to be carried a long way. Even today, every cup of coffee I’ve bought West of the Mississippi and East of the Sierra Nevadas has been really weak. One lady warned me when she heard my accent “Now, this is coffee for people who drink coffee all day. If you want it strong order a double espresso.” She was right. Next morning I ordered a large coffee and an espresso - which I poured into it. I imagine they’d make it stronger as a storm kept them up for long stretches, but overall, nothing like the way we use up coffee beans. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/35 "2018-05-02T02:09:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sure looked like coffee to me. OTOH, Dick did battle alcoholism at one point, so who knows? How doe you tell two brown liquids apart on a black and white show?😉 But I’m not actually suggesting that Dick might have been drinking whiskey, even if Jackie and Johnny were. It could have been Coke or any other dark beverage. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/36 "2018-05-02T02:40:23Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > How doe you tell two brown liquids apart on a black and white show?😉 It was black. No cream. It \*could \*have been something else, but I don’t see the point of a substitution. Surely their budget could stand the cost of a can of Folgers. I think Laura even poured it from a coffeepot. Doesn’t mean they brewed it on the stovetop; I’m sure they had an urn on the set making coffee for everyone working on the show. Probably just drew it from there. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/37 "2018-05-02T02:50:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There may have been _liquid_ in the cup, but it wasn’t necessarily coffee. Actually, this is a moot point. What she meant was, there wasn’t \*anything \*in the cup. She was adamant the actors were just pretending there was. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/38 "2018-05-02T03:12:04Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > You use your tongue prettier than a 20 dollar whore! Shitkicker. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/39 "2018-05-02T03:12:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Actually, this is a moot point. What she meant was, there wasn’t \*anything \*in the cup. She was adamant the actors were just pretending there was. No, I understood that was the argument. I was just nitpicking so I could tell the story about Jackie Gleason. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383/40 "2018-05-02T03:26:55Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Shitkicker. That’s Hedley! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-shows-and-coffee/813383.md?page=3)