Jewish Invention Myths: Instant Coffee
Another ‘jewish invention’ myth that apparently jews didn’t bother to check before repeating is the claim that jews ‘invented Instant Coffee’.
Kathyrn Bernheimer asserts in ‘Boulder Jewish News’ that this was the case but offers no further context (1) so naturally I went off to do some digging and found out that it is another bold-faced jewish lie.
Just who invented instant coffee is somewhat contested, but it is generally now credited to the non-jewish French writer Alphonse Allais in 1881 as he successfully patented water-dissolving instant coffee that he called ‘Essence of Coffee’ in that year in France.
As ‘Coffee Affection’ writes:
‘The first accepted patent for a water-soluble coffee substance was in 1881. It was invented and patented (#141520) by Alphonse Allais in France. Allais’ patent is the first form of real water-dissolving, instant coffee instead of a coffee concentrate mix, which was called Essence of Coffee and was not popular at all. Camp Coffee was invented before Allais’ patent, but it is syrup and not instant coffee grounds.’ (2)
The next iteration of instant coffee which was a success – unlike Allais’ version – was that invented by David Strang of Invercargill, New Zealand which had its patent applied for on 28th January 1889 and was granted in 1890 as New Zealand patent number #3518. (3)
Strang then proceeded to market and sell his invention under the name of ‘Strang’s Coffee’. (4)
Next, we have Japanese inventor Satori Kato who invented:
‘A method for separating the volatile oils from the coffee between 1899 and 1901. This allowed the oils to be recombined with the dried product, preserving flavor and extending its shelf life. He presented his product at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901. Kato received a US patent for his process in 1903.’ (5)
So clearly then Allais has the priority for the invention of instant coffee but Strang and Kato – who independently came up with their own versions – also deserve credit.
So where does the idea that ‘jews invented instant coffee’ come from?
Well, my guess is from the fact that one Max Morgenthaler led the research team at Nestlé in Switzerland working on developing an improved form of instant coffee from 1929 and was eventually successful in 1936/1937 giving rise to the famous Nescafé brand of instant coffee in 1938. (6)
I can’t find any direct evidence that Morgenthaler was himself jewish other than going by his name he could well of been, but it would make sense that jews simply saw that a ‘Max Morgenthaler’ invented Nescafe and just assumed – because Nescafé is one if not the earliest surviving brands of instant coffee – that he actually invented it which just isn’t true.
Hence why you shouldn’t believe jews when they claim to have invented things!
References
(1) https://boulderjewishnews.org/2009/an-informal-list-of-jewish-inventions-innovations-and-radical-ideas/
(2) https://coffeeaffection.com/when-was-instant-coffee-invented/ ; https://procaffeination.com/the-invention-of-instant-coffee-who-what-where-and-how/ agrees.
(3) https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1890-I.2.3.2.1
(4) https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18930907.2.32.2
(5) https://procaffeination.com/the-invention-of-instant-coffee-who-what-where-and-how/
(6) https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2018/10/history-of-coffee-the-invention-of-nescafe/ and https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/max-rudolf-morgenthaler-had-intention-giving-up-story-reddy/