H and H Coffee

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

Victoria Advocate, 31 August 1961, page 31 — photo and Advocate News Service article reporting Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. of San Antonio launching an 'appreciation certificate' insert in Master Chef vacuum cans; photo shows Albert G., R. W., and Gus P. Menger at the production line
Victoria Advocate, 31 August 1961, page 31 — photo and Advocate News Service article reporting Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. of San Antonio launching an 'appreciation certificate' insert in Master Chef vacuum cans; photo shows Albert G., R. W., and Gus P. Menger at the production line
Catalog ID
HH-CLIP-1961-0005
Gallery
Newspaper

Victoria Advocate — Master Chef appreciation-certificate launch (1961-08-31)

Advocate News Service piece datelined San Antonio. Documents the first appearance of in-can trading-stamp-redeemable “appreciation certificates” inside Master Chef Coffee — two in the two-pound vacuum can, one in the one-pound — being distributed throughout South Texas. The photo caption (“CUSTOMER BONUS INAUGURATED”) names three Mengers in active operational roles at the same date: Albert G. (president), R. W. (executive vice-president and director of advertising-merchandising), and Gus P. (chairman of the Board), with Gus P. shown placing the first certificate into a 2lb can on the line.

Notable corroborating facts from the article body:

  • Company description: “Hoffmann-Haymen [sic], fifty-seven year old coffee company, is Texas’ largest independent coffee roasting concern.”
  • Brand lineup as of August 1961: Master Chef Coffee, H & H Coffee, Texas Girl Coffee, Javo Coffee, Anita Coffee, “as well as many private hotel and club brands.”
  • Honor: “In 1959, Menger was honored by the title of ‘Dean of Southern Coffee Roasters’ by the Southern Coffee Roasters Association. This title stands for the highest award of achievement a coffee blending expert can obtain in the coffee industry. Menger, member of the association for forty-five years, is one of only five active roasters in the United States to receive this highly coveted recognition.”
  • Albert Menger’s tenure: “twenty-one years has worked side by side with his father learning the fine art of coffee roasting and blending.”

The final paragraph (“More than four of every five oil wells drilled in the world are drilled in the United States”) is unrelated bleed from the adjacent column on the printed page.