Camp Coffee
Camp Coffee is a concentrated syrup which is flavoured with coffee and chicory, first produced in 1876 by Paterson & Sons Ltd, in Glasgow.[1]
In 1974, Dennis Jenks merged his business with Paterson to form Paterson Jenks plc.[2] In 1984, Paterson Jenks plc was bought by McCormick & Company. McCormick UK Ltd assimilated Paterson Jenks into the Schwartz brand. Camp is now produced in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Description
The ingredients of Camp Chicory & Coffee are sugar, water, chicory extract (25%) and dried coffee extract (4%).[3] Camp is a dark brown, syrupy liquid. It has a smooth flavour of chicory and coffee but with a very sweet, predominantly chicory aftertaste.
Camp is generally used by mixing with hot water or with warm
History
Camp Coffee was created in 1885 by Campbell Paterson (1851-1927) of R. Paterson & Son in Glasgow. The company specialised in cordials, and their best-selling product was a raspberry cordial often added to whisky or brandy to create a drink known as "Cuddle-me-Dearie". The coffee essence was developed by Campbell Paterson for domestic use, to avoid the complex and then expensive equipment required for coffee drinking.[4]
Legend has it (mainly due to the picture on the label) that Camp Coffee originated as an
The original label, by William Victor Wrigglesworth, depicted a Sikh servant waiting on a seated Scottish soldier. A feature of that label was that the server carried a tray on which there was a bottle of Camp Coffee, which carried the same label showing a bottle of Camp Coffee, regressing to infinity. A later version of the label, introduced in the mid-20th century, removed the tray from the picture (thus removing the infinite bottles Droste effect) which was seen as an attempt to avoid the connotation that the Sikh was a servant, although he still waited while the kilted Scottish soldier sipped his coffee.[7][8] Since 2006, the Sikh is depicted as a soldier sitting beside the Scottish soldier, with a cup and saucer of his own.[9]
Popularity
Camp Coffee is an item of British nostalgia, because many remember it from their childhood. It is still a popular ingredient for home bakers making coffee-flavoured cake and coffee-flavoured buttercream.
In late 1975, Camp Coffee temporarily became a popular alternative to instant coffee in the UK, after the price of coffee doubled due to shortages caused by heavy frosts in Brazil.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "BBC - A History of the World: Original Camp Coffee label". BBC. 16 September 2021.
- ^ "Jenks Company History". Paterson Jenks plc. Archived from the original on 9 October 2004. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ "Camp Chicory & Coffee 241Ml Bottle". Tesco.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ Made in Scotland: Camp Coffee - Carol Foreman
- ^ A Colonial Legacy, An Officer and an Icon, The Independent.
- ISBN 9780955259906.
- ^ "Coffee logo stirs racism row". BBC News. 1999-08-01. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
- ^ Pool, Robert. "Original 'Camp Coffee' label". A History of the World. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
- ^ "Camp Coffee and political correctness". iangreen.com. 2006-09-13. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
- ^ "Coffee Frost and Drought History". coffeeresearch.org. Coffee Research Institute. Retrieved 2017-11-22.