On the cattle drives, cowboys wanted coffee at every meal: hot, strong and black. At first it was scarce, because roasting beans took time and roasted beans did not keep.
In 1865 the Arbuckle brothers began selling roasted beans sealed with an egg-and-sugar glaze. Their Ariosa brand became the chuck wagon staple.
Each package came with a stick of peppermint candy, which went to the cowboy who ground the beans.
Cowboy coffee
How it's made. Ground coffee is added to a pot of boiling water and simmered for several minutes.1,2
How it's served. Hot, strong and black, at every meal from the chuck wagon.
What time is taking away
Egg-and-sugar glazed beans
Before Arbuckles', coffee was sold green and roasted at home, where one burned bean could spoil a batch. The Arbuckles sealed roasted beans with an egg-and-sugar glaze to keep them fresh on the trail.1
What the record says
- Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight turned a surplus Army wagon into the first chuck wagon in 1866.2
- Cowboys wanted coffee at every meal, hot, strong and black.2
- Early on, coffee was scarce on the trail because roasting beans took time and they did not keep well.2
- In 1865 John and Charles Arbuckle began coating roasted beans with an egg-and-sugar glaze to seal in flavour.1
- Arbuckles' Ariosa coffee shipped in wooden crates of 100 packages and was popular with chuck wagon cooks.1
- Each Arbuckles' package held a stick of peppermint candy, and the cook would call out 'Who wants the candy?' to find someone to grind the beans.1
The map point is Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (Montana), whose NPS page is a source. Popular methods for settling grounds (cold water, eggshells) are not covered by opened sources and are left out. The True West article returned 403.
- The Coffee that Won the West · Harvey County Historical Museum, 2018 in the bibliography
- The Chuckwagon · National Park Service, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, 2021 in the bibliography
