Café HAG facts for kids
Café HAG is a well-known brand of decaffeinated coffee. This means it's coffee with most of the caffeine removed. Today, the company that owns Café HAG is called JDE Peet's.
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The Story of Café HAG
Café HAG started in a city called Bremen, Germany, in 1906. Its original name was Kaffee-Handels-Aktiengesellschaft, which means "Coffee Trading Limited".
Who Started It?
The person who founded Café HAG was Ludwig Roselius. He helped create the very first way to remove caffeine from coffee on a large scale. This was a big deal because it meant people could enjoy coffee without the stimulating effects of caffeine.
Creative Designs and Art
Two artists, Alfred Runge and Eduard Scotland, were very important to Café HAG. They designed the company's posters and packaging. Their designs helped make the brand famous and easily recognizable.
Collecting Fun: Café HAG Albums
In the 1920s and 1930s, Café HAG became known for something special: Café HAG albums. These albums were for collecting pictures of heraldic emblems, which are like family crests or symbols. People would collect these pictures, often found in coffee packages, and put them in the albums.
The Sanka Connection
Another famous decaffeinated coffee brand, Sanka, actually came from Café HAG. Sanka started in 1910 for the French market. The name "Sanka" is a shorter way of saying sans caféine, which means "without caffeine" in French. The rights to sell Sanka in America were sold in 1913.
Changing Owners Over Time
Over the years, Café HAG has been owned by different companies:
- In 1928, the Kellogg Company bought Ludwig Roselius's American branch of the company.
- Then, in 1939, Kellogg sold it to General Foods.
- Much later, in 1979, General Foods bought the original German company.
- In 1990, Kraft Foods merged with General Foods. This meant that both HAG and Sanka became brands of the American company, Kraft Foods.
- The spelling "Café HAG" became the standard way to write the name in the 1990s.
- Since 2015, JDE Peet's has owned Café HAG.
Popular TV Ads
In the 1980s, Café HAG had some very popular TV commercials. One character named Klaus, played by Roger Callister, became quite famous. He was a favorite among people who enjoyed watching advertisements.
