For sale is an antique ARBUCKLE COFFEE SHIPPING CRATE that has been re-purposed as an end table or night stand. Both long sides of the cabinet have crisp advertising graphics that read: “ARBUCKLE GROUND COFFEES GUARANTEES BY ARBUCKLE BROS.” The overall dimensions of this large crate are 33 inches tall, 22 inches wide and 17 inches deep. The crate stands on arched wood legs. The crate has a mahogany wood top with beveled edges. The crate has two interior wood shelves. The top interior section has two small jewelry size pull out drawers. This end table would be great for use to display vintage collectibles. This amazing crate will look great as part of your rustic or vintage decor. A truly one-of-a-kind furniture item. Duck sold separately.
The bottom compartment space measures 4 3/4 inches tall, 18 1/2 inches wide by 14 1/2 inches deep. The middle compartment space measures 8 1/4 inches tall, 18 1/2 inches wide by 14 1/2 inches deep. The top compartment has about 12 inches inch but in the center the two drawers takes some of this space. The distance between the top shelf and the bottom of the lower drawer is about 7 inches.
Up until the close of the Civil war, coffee beans were sold green. The consumer had to roast the coffee beans over a wood stove or in a skillet over a campfire before it could be ground and brewed. One burned bean ruined the batch. In 1865, John Arbuckle and his brother Charles, partners in a Pittsburgh grocery business, solved this dilemma by patenting a process for roasting and coating coffee beans with an egg and sugar glaze to seal in the flavor and aroma. Marketed under the name ARBUCKLES’ ARIOSA COFFEE in patented, airtight, one pound packages, the new coffee was an instant success with chuck wagon cooks in the west. ARBUCKLES’ COFFEE became so dominant in the west that many Cowboys were not aware there was any other coffee brand.
ARBUCKLES’ ARIOSA COFFEE packages bore a yellow label with the name ARBUCKLES’ in large red letters across the front, beneath which flew a Flying Angel trademark over the words ARIOSA COFFEE in black letters. Arbuckle coffee was shipped all over the country in sturdy wooden crates, one hundred packages to a crate.
Arbuckle Coffee packages also contained a stick of peppermint candy. Chuck wagon cooks used the peppermint stick as an incentive to bribe a cowboy into grinding the beans. Upon hearing the cook’s call, “Who wants the candy?” some of the toughest Cowboys on the trail were known to vie for the opportunity of manning the coffee grinder in exchange for satisfying a sweet tooth.
