Does anybody have any Postum memories?

[scoots]

I'm looking for a beverage to replace coffee for me and I found out that Postum is being made again, but in limited distribution. (Either I have to pay Vermont Store's extortion price or drive about 10 miles to an Ingles Grocery store).

Before I do either, I'd like to know if anybody on the lists used to drink this beverage and tell me what they thought.

I remember the product, but was the wrong age to be using it, and it was never a regular item on my Mom's grocery lists.

I know not to expect that it tastes like coffee since it's made from roasted wheat and molasses. Thanks.

 

[d-jones]

I've been drinking Postum since I was a kid in the late sixties. Since I've never been a coffee drinker it was never a coffee substitute for me, just a hot drink for breakfast. I liked the original and I like the new product just as much, but don't buy it from the Vermont Country Store. Get it from the maker. They charge $10.50 per jar. I just ordered four of them and the shipping worked out to an additional $1.60 each, bringing the total per jar to $12.10. They also have a coffee flavored version for those that want that sort of thing. Here's a link.

 

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postum.com

 

[warmsecondrinse]

My grandparents had Postum when they wanted a change from the tea they usually drank.

I actually like Postum. I liked it rather stronger, with more milk, but less sugar than my grandparents did. I believe the jar had an address one could write to for a list of Postum recipes. IIRC it could be used as a substitute for coffee in many (but not all) recipes and alcoholic drinks that called for coffee.

Chicory used to be blended with coffee both as a way to extend it and to reduce caffeine content without altering the taste, although I believe chicory reduces the bitterness. There used to be a ground coffee made with chicory but I don't know if it's still around.I personally don't remember it, but my great-grandmother used to make her own coffee/chicory mix at home and it was apparently a fairly simple process, though I know nothing of it.

Glad to know it's available again.

Jim

 

[alr2903]

Jim,  chicory in coffee is popular with the folks of Louisiana.  Luzianne  (yellow bag has chicory).  Some of the other regional brands have chicory.  Here is a link.

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thecajunconnection.com

 

[alr2903]

Here is the Luzianne site, now a division of Reily food,  NTGOT:  They apparently have also acquired Blue Plate Mayonnaise,  in the south it has a fan base similar to Duke's  that some members prefer.

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https

 

[alr2903]

Who knew?  Reily foods now owns Blue Plate Mayo. Blue Plate has a loyal following just as Duke's Mayo. Apparently they also now own French Market Coffee and CDM. 

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https

 

[polkanut]

My great-aunt Adela & great-uncle Douglas drank coffee for breakfast, black tea at noon, and Postum for supper.  This routine never varied regardless of whether they had company at meal time or not.  The smell of hot Postum would make me nauseous as a kid.  Haven't tried it again in years.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I remember my father's mother drinking it. She would dunk a corner of her slice of toast in it. It was a popular coffee substitute during WWII.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Thank you, alr2903

I think I'll give Luzianne a whirl

Dammit, Tom! You just HAD to put that last sentence in, didn't you? I was sitting here innocently going through aw.org and sipping my coffee while trying to wake up. But no .... thanks to your last sentence I had to find out why coffee would need a substitute during WWII.

The link below has the highest concentration of actual info of what I found.

Long story short:
Most coffee consumed in the U.S. during WWII was grown in South America. Coffee growers actually had bumper crops through most of the war. There was never any shortage of coffee itself. The problem was shipping it to the U.S. As the war continued, more and more merchant (i.e. civilian) ships were diverted to keep Europe supplied. At the same time, U-boats became increasingly numerous/aggressive at attacking cargo ships running between North and South America.

Coffee rationing in the U.S. began in November of 1942 but proved so unpopular it was the first item to be lifted in July of 1943. This makes sense to me as coffee is one of the few items that those fighting on the home front needed just as much as the soldiers did.

Remember, when Rosie the Riveter came home from building a B-17 she had her victory garden to tend while other Rosies were flying said B-17 to England. If Rosie had kids they were likely watched by an elderly lady too old to work in a factory. Do you SERIOUSLY want any of these women to do their jobs without coffee???

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www.sarahsundin.com

 

[whirlcool]

What did Postum actually taste like?

 

[tomturbomatic]

There were many articles during the rationing period about how to get the most flavor out of the least amount of coffee including various modifications that could be made to coffee pots.

 

[tomturbomatic]

You have to remember WWII caught many homemakers without good appliances due to the Great Depression. I have read ads and articles in homemaking magazines of the time telling how women formed cooperatives to get tasks done. One lady might have a good washer so she would volunteer to do laundry in exchange for someone doing some victory garden canning. Someone who was home could do some after school child care for a woman who worked or volunteered for the war effort or was a nurse in exchange for some task the office or defense worker could perform. One ad I remember was a picture of a woman coming home from rolling bandages for the Red Cross. With her are her children and dinner is ready thanks to the clock-controlled oven on her 1941 GE range. Neighbors helped neighbors in many ways. There was a mini series in 1975 or 75 about the home front during the war. I watched it with a friend who remembered the car pools where cars did not stop in front of houses to pick up riders, but slowed down as the door was opened and the newest passenger ran to match the speed of the car then jumped on the running board and got in.

Most all consumer goods came under rationing to keep the troops supplied in the various theaters of war.

 

[joeekaitis]

POSTUM

Keeps families together, saves marriages, prevents juvenile delinquency and improves athletic performance. Who knew?

Well, columnist James Lileks knew.

And if the BACK/NEXT buttons don't work, click the image to advance.

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www.lileks.com

 

[frigilux]

Two shaky thumbs up for Mr. Coffee Nerves!
️

 

[supersuds]

My mom remembers her dad going to the Battle Creek "Sanitarium" in the 1920s for a rest cure, or whatever they called it. After that he always drank Postum and ate Grape Nuts. Not giving up smoking and drinking probably limited the health benefits, though!

 

[scoots]

Postum Report

Well, I got off my dunch last week and drove to an Ingles grocery store that carries Postum. I saw it in a Vermont Store catalog over Christmas for a whopping $19 for a very modestly sized bottle. The Ingles price was much more reasonable (about $7.50) and so I brought home a bottle for a brew.

I've had four or five cups so far and I really like this stuff. It makes a nice single cup serving about 9pm before bed.

It's hard to describe exactly what it tastes like since it contains only roasted wheat and molasses, other than it's got a "dark" flavor with the molasses taste and subtle sweetness in the background. Right now I'm taking it black and it's very agreeable.

The drink comes powdered and is to be dissolved in boiling water. Unfortunately, it is prone to not dissolving completely, leaving tiny brown flecks at the waterline. If you're serving this to guests, make it in a pan and decant it into the cups.

The product also can leave a small amount of undissolved mix at the bottom of the cup, resembling a paste. It's actually rather tasty and not disagreeable. There's no aftertaste and it doesn't affect your breath.

Best of all, the drink remains tasty as it comes off the boiling point and cools, unlike coffee with cream, which can be come disagreeable as it cools.

So there it is. Thanks for everybody's contribution to the post.

 

[supersuds]

Thanks for the report! I may try some if I ever make it to an Ingles again. They're all a little out of the way.

 

[mrboilwash]

Following this thread a local product called Caro came to my mind.
Seems it is also widely available (Wholefoods, Publix) in the US under the brandname Pero.
Maybe it`s worth a try ? Anyway I don`t know how it compares to Postum.