Religious Postum

Experimenting in a horse barn with mixtures of molasses, bran and wheat 101 years ago, Charles William Post invented a coffee substitute, which he humbly named after himself: 'Postum.' Americans had 'Coffee-free Coffee.' It tasted like the real thing, but with none of the caffeine risks. Sales zoomed, sparking Post to introduce a second brand of coffee substitute, which promptly flopped, so Post simply reintroduced the same stuff, this time as a cereal - Grape Nuts, (which is neither, of course). What Post discovered with Postum was the American penchant for substitutes.

For the next 62 years many Postum drinkers sweetened their coffee-free-coffee with good old fashioned sugar. That is, until Chevy made its best car (1957) and Americans welcomed a friendly little pink packet which called itself 'Sweet 'n Low.' We now had sugar-free-sugar. How about cream? You take cream? Well, perhaps you did until 1963, when we got cream-free-cream in the form of the new 'Cremora.' Postum drinkers could now hav