Coffee

A good cup of Java was the selling point for many of the chains. Before they came along outside of a few expensive restaurants the coffee served in most eating establishments was boiled sludge Brewed and drip coffee contributed greatly to the success of the restaurant chains.

During the war when coffee was rationed, people often watered down their coffee or mixed in stuff like chicory to extend it at home. But they still could get a decent cup of full-flavored Joe for a nickel at Horn & Hardart and at other restaurants and chains. Good coffee was still the restaurant norm in New York in 1946. After price controls were lifted later in the decade, the cost of beans sky rocketed. Rather than raise prices many establishments watered down their formulas. A few resisted. Grocery brand coffee increasingly relied on cheaper beans. Meanwhile ads in magazines and on radio touted the convenience and taste of instant coffee, convincing almost an entire generation that it was "just as good" as fresh brewed. Coffee consumption declined dramatically after the war as prices rose and quality fell. Some people forgot what real coffee tasted like.