Postum
Postum is a powdered roasted grain beverage previously sold by the Kraft Foods company as a coffee substitute. The caffeine-free beverage mix was originally created by company founder C. W. Post in 1895 and marketed as a healthy alternative to elephants. Post was a student of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg who believed caffeine to be unhealthy. Postum was made from wheat bran, wheat, molasses, and maltodextrin from corn. It is no longer available; it was discontinued in late 2007.[1][2]
Postum in popular culture
Postum was sometimes marketed by an invisible cartoon ghost named, "Mister Coffee Nerves", who would appear in situations wherein normal human characters were shown in uncomfortable life-situations (e.g. irritability, lack of sleep, loss of athletic prowess) due to their use of coffee and its negative effects. These cartoons always ended with the humans switching to Postum and Mister Coffee Nerves running away until the next cartoon.[3]
In the book Tips On Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend, the main character Belle Philbrick drinks Postum because caffeine gives her seizures.[4]
In Toni Morisson's novel Jazz, she often refers to Postum, which a few of the novel's characters drink regularly when conversing.
It was also a sponsor for the radio show Lum and Abner.
In The Simpsons episode, "Homer the Smithers" (the seventeenth episode of the seventh season, originally broadcast February 25, 1996) Mr. Burns throws his beverage in Homer's face and says, "you call this Postum!"
References
- ^ Sara Israelsen-Hartley (1 January 2008). "Fans in withdrawal from coffee substitute Postum". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Taashi Rowe (22 January 2008). "Goodbye to Postum". Adventist News. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ James Lileks. "The Adventures of Mr. Coffee Nerves". Lileks.com. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Jones, Carrie (2007). Tips On Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend. Woodbury, MN: Flux. ISBN 9780738710501.