Sanka

Sanka is a brand of decaffeinated coffee, sold around the world, and was one of the earliest decaffeinated varieties.Fact|date=March 2008 Sanka is distributed in the United States by Kraft Foods.

Decaffeinated coffee was invented in 1903 by a team of researchers led by Ludwig Roselius in Bremen, Germany. [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination#Roselius_process Decaffeination: Roselius process] ] It was first sold in Germany and many other European countries in 1905–06 under the name "Kaffee HAG".Fact|date=May 2008 In France the brand name became "Sanka", derived from the French words "sans caféine" ("without caffeine"). [ [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50213077 Sanka.] Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 1989. Accessed 5 August 2008.] The brand came to the United States in 1909–10, where it was first marketed under the name "Dekafa" or "Dekofa" by an American sales agent.Fact|date=May 2008

In 1914, Roselius founded his own company, Kaffee Hag Corporation, in New York.Fact|date=May 2008 When Kaffee Hag was confiscated by the Alien Property Custodian during World War I and sold to an American firm, Roselius lost not only his company, but also the American trademark rights to the name.Fact|date=May 2008 To re-establish his product, he began to use the Sanka brand name in America.

In Europe the Hag company used the Sanka brand in many countries (Holland, Begium, Germany, Switzerland amonst others) as a cheaper alternative to the premium brand Coffee Hag. The brand disappeared in these countries after WWII, but it continued until the 1970s as the premium brand in France. First marketed in the United States in 1923, Sanka was initially sold only at two Sanka Coffee Houses in New York, but it soon was brought into retail.

Radio

The intensive American advertising campaigns included the 1927 broadcasts of "Sanka After-Dinner Hour" (aka "Sanka Music", "Sanka After-Dinner Music", "Sanka Music Hour" and "Sanka After-Dinner Coffee Hour"), heard at 6:30pm Tuesdays on New York's WEAF.

With such promotion, Sanka became a nationwide sales success with General Foods Corporation taking over distribution in 1928. The bright orange label that made Sanka easily identifiable to consumers found its way into coffee shops around the country in the form of the decaf coffee pot. Coffee pots with a bright orange handle are a direct result of the American public's association of the color orange with Sanka, no matter which brand of coffee is actually served. Businesses that serve rival Folgers decaffeinated coffee usually have green-handled pots.

anka albums

In France, Café Sanka issued heraldic picture albums in the same style as the Coffee Hag albums. However, only six albums of the planned 42 were ever published [ [http://www.heraldryshop.biz/catalogue/albums/hagfr.htm|Café Sanka albums] ]

Popular culture (USA)

* Sanka was a sponsor of "I Love Lucy" during its initial run on CBS television in the 1950s. [Davis, Madelyn Pugh, et al. "I Love Lucy", complete sixth season. Hollywood, Calif: Paramount Home Entertainment, 2006.]
* During the 1970s, a series of television commercials featuring actor Robert Young (of "Marcus Welby, M.D." fame), encouraged coffee drinkers to switch to Sanka, to bring down their blood pressure and decrease nervousness and irritability.Fact|date=May 2008
* In the movie "Cool Runnings", actor/comedian Doug E. Doug portrays a fictional Jamaican bodsledder named Sanka Coffie, whose name sounds like the brand of coffee.
* In the "Family Guy" episode "Peter's Daughter", the Fanta Girls are parodied as the Sanka Girls featuring elderly women singing, "Don't you wanta wanta Sanka?"
* In the film "Down With Love", all the members of the Banner House board expect Vicky to make them a coffee except for R.J. who asks for a Sanka — much to Vicky's annoyance.
* In the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Mr. Vargas announces to the class that he just switched to Sanka.
* In the autobiography "Running With Scissors", Augusten's mother Deirdre is frequently depicted drinking or making Sanka.
* In Cole Porter's lyrics for "Kiss Me Kate", Bill quips, "To win you, Bianca/ There's nothin I would not do/ I would gladly give up coffee for Sanka/ Even Sanka, Bianca, for you."
* In the "Seinfeld" episode "The Soup", Elaine orders decaf and looks slightly disappointed upon hearing they only have Sanka.

References

External links

* [http://www.kraft.com/100/founders/LRoselius.html Kraft Foods profile on Ludwig Roselius]