The Coffee Brand That Fueled Old West Cowboys Is Still On Shelves Today

Long before Starbucks and Dunkin', the most successful coffee in America was a brand by the name of Arbuckles'. Beloved by cowboys and city folk alike, Arbuckles' was a pioneer in the world of commercial coffee, known for its signature Ariosa blend of roasted beans. Believe it or not, these beans are still on supermarket shelves today, namely around Tucson, Arizona, where you can find it sold at places like Whole Foods and AJ's Fine Foods, among others.

Many of us take the convenience of a hot, fresh cup of coffee for granted. No matter if you prefer K-Cups or pour-overs, it doesn't take long to brew a cup of joe in the morning. But if you traveled back in time about 150 years or so, you'd find one major hurdle to your daily routine: Coffee beans were typically sold raw, green, and unroasted. Way back before vacuum packaging was invented, roasted beans would go stale quickly after being exposed to air. So, if you wanted a cup of coffee at home, your only option was to roast the beans yourself and hope you didn't burn them.

But in 1873, John Arbuckle of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, patented an egg-white and sugar glaze that he used to seal in the freshness of roasted beans, which could then be packed and shipped across the country. With the aid of his brother, Charles, the pair changed the coffee game forever. The novel product would fuel the nation's growing fondness for coffee, especially among the hardworking folks out on the Western frontier.

Arbuckles' beans were packaged in New York and shipped nationwide on the railroad, but the brand's most famous clientele were the cowboys out west who needed to stay alert for long hours on the trail.  Some cowboys even chewed straight on the beans for a caffeine-infused snack. Legend has it they liked their Arbuckles' brew made "strong enough to float a horseshoe and hot enough to blister a steer's tongue," per the "This Week in the West" podcast (via YouTube).

Back in those days, each bag of Arbuckles' included a small piece of peppermint candy, plus coupons that customers could mail in for rewards. Depending on how many you collected, you could cash them in for razors, scissors, or even a wedding ring. No wonder it was called "The Coffee That Won the West."

Even though eventual competition from brands like Folgers led to the company being sold off in the 1930s, the brand didn't fully die. In 1974, a restaurant owner in Tucson bought the rights and revived Arbuckles'. While you can still buy it in select stores around Tucson today, it's also available on Amazon and directly from the company's website, so you can enjoy your own cowboy coffee at home. There's still a candy stick inside the bag.