Orange = Decaf. Why?

Factual Questions
1

As long as I can remember, decaf coffee is always indicated by something orange on the label/pot/etc.

Our decaf foil packs of ground coffee in the office have an orange stripe and they’re made into the pot with the orange plastic lid. The only exception I can think of is Costco’s coffee where their decaffinated whole beans use a green label.

Anyway, who was first to equate the color orange to decaf coffee? My earliest memory is of Sanka instant coffee having an orange screw-top lid but were they first?

-B

2

When Sanka brand decaffeinated coffee was introduced, the company distributed special coffee pots with orange spouts and handles to differentiate the decaf from the regular. It caught on, and there you are.

3

Yeah, Sanka was the first and they definately set the trend. But green is catching on, I’ve noticed, probably because Sanka is generally regarded as a bad-tasting, old-fashioned brand of joe. In other words, green says, “This ain’t your grandfather’s decaf coffee.”

4

Orange = caution.

Caution, you are about to drink coffee with no caffeine in it are you sure you want to do that?

Drinks like Sanka and Postum should have a purple indicator the same as reclaimed gray water their second cousins. :eek:

5

Huh. My office uses Community Coffee, and the decaf foil packets and coffepots are indicated by the color green, while regular is red.

6

Around here, green seems to be the indicator for flavored coffees.

The color orange is so strongly set in people’s minds as decaf, that I’ve seen folks get upset if they receive coffee from a non-orange pot when they order decaf. Some restaurants will also use a coaster with an orange border for the decaf drinkers so there’s no confusion when it’s time for refills.