A bit of coffee history for today:
Coffee has long been a significant part of the world economy. With that status comes interest from corporations, governments, ad agencies, and interest groups. In the late 50s in America consumers were more financially sound than ever before, but wartime culture persisted and roasters catered to an appetite for financial prudence and a national palate that had become more and more accustomed to low quality beans and progressively more dilute cups. This kind of coffee consumption though was not optimal for growers, and the Pan-American Coffee Bureau was an advertising group that formed to represent South American growers. In 1959 they created an artificial community known as the League of Honest Coffee Lovers (LHCL). This “group” promoted the idea of quality coffee and strong coffee (with a primary emphasis on the latter as embodied by their catch phrase “more coffee in our coffee!”. A large ad campaign feigning elaborate protests with passionate well-dressed hypo-diverse coffee enthusiasts spread through newspapers and magazines. So passionate were they, that weapons were a strong theme in these ads. These smiling wool-suited young men and women were ready to slaughter any barista that might serve them anything weaker than the golden ratio. If these ads awoken anything in you and you wished to show support for these crusaders but maybe weren’t quite willing to spill barista blood on your Sunday best, you were invited to write a letter to the Pan-American Coffee Bureau to receive your very own official certificate as proof that you gave a damn about the concentration of your coffee. The whole thing didn’t last very long and had limited lasting impact on coffee brewing trends, but for better or worse it was a notable and historically entertaining effort at improving coffee quality.
Enjoy some of the ads, a downloadable certificate, and a website where you can customize your very own LHCL certificate!
Source: https://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/league_of_honest_coffee_lovers
When the stakes are this high, you damn well better bring your crossbow! Source: https://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/league_of_honest_coffee_lovers
Customize your own Certificate!
Good luck trying to scald my nipples with your boiling hot dilute coffee swill Barista! Prepare to perish for your crimes against coffee! Source: https://www.goantiques.com/league-of-honest-862043
As a vespa driving, coffee house owning, bean roasting, sword having individual, I approve these messages!
But also, drink your coffee any way you damn well please.
Good to know someone took the fight for better coffee seriously. How strong was the coffee they were advocating for?
And similarly, how weak was the prevailing coffee at the time that the growers decided this campaign was needed?
See reply above - brown water weak - 1:21 + most likely with severely over-roasted and over ground coffee in order to extract something that tasted like anything.
Sounds like the “cold brew” I got from a hotel coffee shop recently. It was lighter than iced tea and tasted like water that was briefly run through spent grounds!
Let the manager know that they may be hearing from the League of Honest Coffee Lovers!
The League will be bringing crossbows and swords to the meeting. Don’t look them directly in the eye, they’re twitchy from all the caffeine.
One standard measure of coffee to one cup of water! 🙃
It’s my understanding that the so called golden ratio was a pretty well known thing in serious coffee corners (I’m not sure they called it that though), I think anything stronger than what was being served in diners at the time would make the Pan American bureau happy though. Estimates were that it was common for coffee to be served at around 1:21 (TDS meter go brrrrr…) in the late 50s in the US.
A proper coffee double shot is on the order of 20g coffee in to 60g liquid out.
That’s the end state for me unless I want a larger cup to warm my hands, then that 60g can be decanted upon up to 150mL of hot water
The breastplate over the suit and high neck collar is incredible.
This is glorious. I’ve been suffering some weak coffee lately, at my own hand! Well indirectly, at my place they make cold coffee prepared for me the night before and they water it down too much, gotta rectify that.
