H and H Coffee

Dedicated to the history of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. founded 1899 in San Antonio, Texas.

H and H Coffee did not manufacture brewing equipment. The coffee maker nomenclature class in the KB was populated by artifacts tagged on the basis of brewing-method references on H&H packaging labels and an acquisition that proved non-H&H. As documented below, the original six artifacts in this class have been redistributed: four reclassified to their correct item types in this commit (HH-ITEM-0001 and HH-ITEM-0002), one noted as already tagged to HH-ITEM-0005 pending review, and one retained here as the only physical coffee maker in the corpus — confirmed not H&H.

Quick ID:

  • No H&H-produced coffee maker is documented. Any listing titled “H and H” coffee maker should be read carefully — see the Household Institute percolator story below.
  • Household Institute percolator — three-part stovetop aluminum/Bakelite percolator; bottom stamp reads “HOUSEHOLD INSTITUTE / PAT. NO. 76,507 / [twin-H monogram] / ALUMINUM / COOKING UTENSILS”; that twin-H monogram is Household Institute’s mark, not Hoffmann-Hayman’s; acquired Jul 2014 on a mistaken listing
  • Perc-O-Drip Grind — label text on H&H Blend tins and Crystalvac jars: “MAKES A PERFECT-FLAVORED BREW WITH EITHER PERCOLATOR, BOILING OR ANY DRIP METHOD”; documents H&H’s engagement with percolator-era consumer culture but appears on packaging, not on any coffee maker

Household Institute percolator (not H&H)

A three-part stovetop percolator in brushed aluminum with Bakelite handles and knob, acquired July 2014 via eBay on a listing that read as an H and H piece. The bottom stamp resolves the attribution: a circular embossed mark reading HOUSEHOLD INSTITUTE / PAT. NO. 76,507 / ALUMINUM / COOKING UTENSILS around a twin-H monogram. That interlocking “HH” is the Household Institute manufacturer mark, not the Hoffmann-Hayman coffee brand.

The piece is filed in the collection as a lesson in reading listings carefully. It has three KB entries:

  • HH-COLL-2014-0004 (collection, coffee maker) — body/profile view of the percolator
  • HH-COLL-2014-0005 (collection, premium) — bottom-stamp view; this entry is flagged for removal from the collection gallery in H and H Promotional Premium open questions
  • HH-OTH-2014-0001 (not_our_h_and_h, coffee maker) — correctly filed not-H&H duplicate

Only HH-COLL-2014-0004 is tracked under this item. HH-COLL-2014-0005 and HH-OTH-2014-0001 are not H&H artifacts.

Perc-O-Drip Grind — percolator in H&H label copy

H&H actively addressed brewing method on its packaging. The most specific callout documented in the corpus appears on the 3 lb H and H Blend tin (HH-COLL-2019-0013) and Crystalvac jar (HH-COLL-2019-0029/0030):

“PERC-O-DRIP GRIND — MAKES A PERFECT-FLAVORED BREW WITH EITHER PERCOLATOR, BOILING OR ANY DRIP METHOD”

This “Perc-O-Drip” name was a proprietary grind designation — a marketing claim that a single grind calibration worked across percolator, stove-top boiling, and drip methods. The Texas Girl 2-lb bag (HH-REF-2015-0007) carries a simpler callout: “Regular grind for percolator or boiling.” These brewing-method references on packaging do not make the packaging artifacts coffee makers; they have been reclassified accordingly (see Open questions).

A coffee pot illustration appears on the reverse panel of Crystalvac jars — an H and H Blend tin beside a steaming pot and cup, with the “We Roast It, Others Praise It” banner. The illustration is decorative label art on the jar, not a coffee maker.

Reclassification actions (this commit)

The following artifacts were tagged nomenclature_term: "coffee maker" based on brewing-method label text but are physically tins, jars, or bags. Reclassified here and backlinked to their correct items:

Artifact Was Now
HH-COLL-2019-0013 coffee maker (collection) item: HH-ITEM-0002 — H and H Blend Coffee Tin
HH-COLL-2019-0029 coffee maker (collection) item: HH-ITEM-0001 — Crystalvac Jar
HH-COLL-2019-0030 coffee maker (collection) item: HH-ITEM-0001 — Crystalvac Jar

HH-REF-2015-0007 (paper bags, reference gallery) carries item: HH-ITEM-0005 from an earlier backlink pass and is not reclassified in this commit — see Open questions.

Artifacts

In the collection

  • HH-COLL-2014-0004 — Household Institute three-part aluminum/Bakelite stovetop percolator, body view (confirmed not H&H; PAT. NO. 76,507)

Reference

None.

Wanted

No H&H-branded or H&H-distributed coffee maker is documented. If a grocer-premium coffee maker or a percolator tied to the 1958 iced-tea-glass/appliance premium era exists, it has not been located. See also the West Bend percolator question in Open questions.

Open questions

  • HH-REF-2015-0007 (Texas Girl 2-lb and H and H 1-lb Continental-era paper bags, 3 July 2015) carries nomenclature_term: "coffee maker" and item: HH-ITEM-0005 (Master Chef tin). The image shows bags, not a coffee maker and not a Master Chef tin. Correct assignment is item: HH-ITEM-0008 (H and H Coffee Bag); the HH-ITEM-0005 tag should be removed. Not resolved in this commit.
  • HH-COLL-2014-0005 (bottom-stamp view of the Household Institute percolator) is filed in the collection gallery as nomenclature_term: "premium". As noted in H and H Promotional Premium, it is not an H&H item and may warrant removal from the collection gallery. Not resolved here.
  • The master-chef-tin.md open questions reference a “2018 West Bend percolator-premium acquisition” as the lot in which 2-lb Master Chef tins arrived. Whether the West Bend percolator itself was cataloged as a KB artifact is not confirmed; no artifact with a West Bend percolator description appears under any nomenclature class.
  • Was a coffee maker ever distributed as an H&H premium or bundled with coffee purchases? The 1958 San Antonio Light iced-tea-glass offer documents a glassware premium; no appliance premium has been sourced.

See also