What coffee did cowboys drink?

Direct Answer: The cowboys mostly drank Arbuckles’ Ariosa, a certain brand of pre-roasted coffee that changed life on the range slightly in the late 1860s. Until then, they had resorted to roasting green beans in a pan on top of the stove, with unpredictable outcomes and scorched flavors. The beans were glazed in a coating made of egg white and sugar to help seal moisture within the bean itself, shielding it from rust-creating oxidation. The brewing process was not merely “boiling water,” but a series of deliberate steps: boiling and steeping the grounds together at once, then “shocking” them to the bottom with cold water. They may have also added some crushed eggshells (to counter acidity) or a pinch of salt (to block bitterness), resulting in a drink that had, surprisingly enough, a smooth texture, was high in calories and was essential for survival in the American West.

History Buffs and Western Culture Junkies: The “Arbuckles” Revolution

Hollywood has things simplified for us, however, and like in a Clint Eastwood western states that cowboys drank some generic “mud.”The truth of this liquid life support goes hand in holster with the story of a huge logistical transformation after the Civil War.

The Brand Dominance:

By the 1870s, “Arbuckles” had become a synonym for “coffee.” When a cowboy ordered a cup of coffee, too, he frequently asked for “a cup of Arbuckle.” It was the fuel of the West.

The Counter-Intuitive Truth:

We like to think of cowboys as tough minimalists, but in fact they were the subject of one of the first sophisticated marketing campaigns in American history.

• The Stick of Candy: John Arbuckle “placed a stick of peppermint candy in each one-pound bag of coffee”. On the trail, the cook would employ this candy to bribe the crew — whoever ground coffee (a slow and tiresome task) got a peppermint stick. That was a brilliant incentive system.
• The Coupon System: The bags came with cuts that could be redeemed for goods such as handkerchiefs, razors or even wedding rings. This generated brand allegiance amongst a mobile population.

The Civil War Connection:

The demand wasn’t random. A lot of cowboys were Civil War vets. The Union Army then allocated vast quantities of coffee to soldiers to keep them moving. These men came back into civilian life as caffeine junkies and made coffee the first necessity packed for any cattle drive.

Outdoorsmen and Bushcrafters: The “Cold Water Shock” Method

If you were to attempt to make cowboy coffee by bringing a pot of grounds and water to the boiling point and cooking it for ten minutes, well, that’s what most cowboy coffee ends up as — a bitter sludge nobody can drink. The historical protocol used physics and simple chemistry to make the brew clear without the aid of a paper filter.

The “Steep and Settle” Process:

• The Ratio 2 tablespoons coarse-ground coffee to 8 ounces water.
• The Boil: Get your water on the flame and bring it to a raging boil, then move it off the direct heat. This is the part that almost everyone gets wrong: Boiling coffee grounds burns off oils, a surefire way to end up with acrid acidity.
• The Bloom: Toss the grounds on top of it in the water (which has now come off to a boil). Let it stand for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not stir yet.
• Physics of Deposition: The soil on the ground floats because it releases CO2 (carbon dioxide). You need to stop this.
• The Cold Water Shock: Into the spout or middle of the pot, pour about a quarter cup of cold water. This instant temperature drop arrests extraction and alters the density of the liquid, so that the suspended grounds quickly fall to the bottom.

The Chemistry of Additives:

• Eggshells: Crushed eggshells were often thrown in the pot by cowboys. Eggshells are Calcium Carbonate (alkaline). That counterbalances the acids in coffee, and what might have been a tough, low-buck roast goes down smooth and mellow.
• Salt: A pinch of salt was typical. It is salt ions, not sugar, that inhibit transistoring of bitter tastes on the tongue. It doesn’t make the coffee salty; it neutralizes the bitterness.

The Glazing Preservation Hack, for Hardcore Coffee Geeks

The greatest challenge in the 19th century wasn’t finding beans — it was oxidation. In the absence of vacuum-sealed foil bags, modern machinery and bulk shipping, roasted coffee would become stale and rancid in days.

The Innovation:

That changed, however, in 1868 with a process patented by John and Charles Arbuckle. They tossed the roasted beans in a mixture of egg white and sugar.

Why This Mattered:

• The Seal: This glaze formed an airtight barrier around the bean, staving off exposure to oxygen so that the volatile oils within wouldn’t deteriorate.
• The Roast Profile: Sugar from the coffee caramelized in the heat of roasting, and that smokey sweetness became a defining “taste” of the West.
• Visual Quality: It makes those beans look all shiny and consistent, you know, instead of the dull brown bumpy home-roast we’re used to.

The Bean Origin:

Though we tend to think of “single-origin” coffee as a new trend, Arbuckles’ Ariosa was largely made up of Brazil-grown beans (probably Rios or Santos). Not for their subtle floral notes, but because their body is up to the glazing process.

For Vintage & Nostalgia Lovers: Re-creating the Ritual

If you want to feel that today, you don’t have to be an antiques hunter. “Cowboy” coffee culture is about the vessel and the amount of time it takes.

The Equipment: Graniteware (Enamelware)

Cowboys did not serve coffee in copper or cast-iron ware, but in Graniteware (speckled enamel over steel).

• Logic: It was light to carry, easy to clean with sand if water was limited and it conducted heat right now.
• Review: Enamelware cools down quickly. Cowboy Coffee is a coffee you have to drink right after brewing. It is not meant to sit.

Where to Find the Real Deal:

In fact, you can still purchase Arbuckles’ Ariosa coffee. The company was resurrected in the late 1970s.

• The Experience: There’s no more tactile way to bridge the 130-year gap between you and your morning cup of Joe than buying a bag of whole bean Arbuckles’, still with a peppermint stick included, and grinding it by hand in an old-fashioned manual burr grinder.
• Serving: Drink it black. Good coffee, if you’ve done the cold water jolt and eggshell trick properly, will teach you to prefer relatively pure temple over Kaffe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What was the name of the type of coffee that cowboys liked best?

Q: What did cowboys drink for coffee?RecognitionException, A: Cowboys drank predominately Arbuckles’ Ariosa. By the 1870s, its competitors vanquished, the brand had so completely overtaken the market that on the range “Arbuckles” became shorthand for coffee—thanks to its superior preservation method and uniform quality compared with home-roasted beans.

Q: Why did bags of Arbuckles’ coffee have a peppermint stick in them?

A: The peppermint stick was a nifty incentive system for the trail crew. Because hand grinding coffee was a chore, the cook would promise the candy to anyone who would agree to do the grinding for that camp.

Q: How do I keep coffee grounds from floating in the cup when brewing up cowboy coffee?

A: You shock someone with cold water. When the coffee’s had a chance to steep, adding approximately 1/4 cup of cold water flashes everything into coolness and changes the density: The floating grounds plunge like spaniels back to sea level.

Q: Why did cowboys put crushed eggshells or salt in their coffee?

A: These agents made the taste better chemically. The eggshells (calcium carbonate) were alkaline, which offset acid and countered the acidity of the coffee, whereas those salt ions inhibited your tongue’s ability to perceive bitterness making a smoother drink.

Q: How did they keep coffee fresh in the 19th century if vacuum packing was not available?

A: In 1868, the Arbuckle brothers patented a process that included coating roasted beans with an egg-white and sugar glaze. This glaze was an air-tight shell which blocked oxygen and trapped the volatile oils.

References