A household hints column in a 1917 issue of Good Housekeeping invited readers to send in their tips for possible publication Readers whose submissions were published received $1 from the magazine. One hint was to keep coffee warm in a thermos bottle when entertaining.
Let the Thermos Help Out
I find my thermos bottle comes in handy when I wish to serve coffee to more people than my percolator will accommodate. My percolator will hold six cups. This I make in the regular way an hour or so before I wish to serve it. Pour it into the thermos bottle, which of course, would keep it hot for hours, and then proceed to make another potful to be ready just in time to serve. The coffee in the thermos bottle I hold in reserve for the second helping. — Mrs. M.E., Minn.
Good Housekeeping (October, 1917)
A Hundred Years Ago 
And that is how coffee shops do it now.
That was my thought, too. Some “new” ideas really are old.
… but it always tastes odd, doesn’t it?
Do you think so?
I use a Thermos a lot when I’m on the road, and particularly when I’m doing something outdoors. I’ve often really welcomed a hot cup of coffee from a Thermos.
Is it because I have it black to you think? I don’t know – but it always tastes sort of odd and ‘baked’ to me.
I always drink it black also.
I would note that there’s a big difference between a steel thermos and something else.
I agree- It’s wonderful to have hot coffee when traveling or doing things outdoors.
There’s nothing like fresh coffee – though I don’t get it very often at restaurants or coffee shops. . . sigh.
they need to be scrupulously clean ; )
I use those “denture” cleaning tablets (the kids used them on their retainers, too)
Thanks for the tip. I never would have thought about using denture cleaning tablets to clean them.
A good thermos is a joy forever. I still remember the red plaid one that we’d take to football games, filled with hot chocolate. It would stay hot in the thermos, and take less than five minutes to grow cold once it was poured.
I think my family also had a red plaid thermos back in the day. 🙂
We also had a red plaid one. I recall that it ultimately internally fractured for some reason, so it must not have been a steel thermos.
Oh those glass ones were terrific! I still have one of my Mother’s and it comes out for us to use each Holiday : ) They used to make “replacements” for the inside, but don’t know if they are still available.
Until you mentioned it, I’d totally forgotten about how they used to make “replacements” for the inside. I think that we needed to buy them several times when I was a child. We kids were hard on thermos bottles.
I wanted to say it was glass but I couldn’t quite remember if that was accurate or not. Thanks for clearing that up.
I was really surprised that Thermos bottle go back that far. In looking it up, I see where the Thermos company has been around since 1904, which I would have never have guessed.
I was, too. It’s amazing how long some products have been around.
A very sensible idea. I am a fan of the Thermos. I own 3 of them.
I think that I only have one – at least I can only find one.
I have several of several different sizes, all of which are steel. I know that I have at least two made by the Stanley company.
Aaah, this takes me back! My grandmother always used coffee pitcher 9822 (or almost identical) for her breakfast which she took up to bed every morning – she had a large jug for coffee and a smaller one for hot milk. And I still have them! I occasionally get them out – we had a large gathering here earlier this year and I needed to make coffee in advance – always a pleasure to use them. They have cork stoppers, and must be over 60 years old, but still work as good as new.
Wow, it’s amazing that you still have them – and that they are in good shape.
Remember (in your will) to leave that pitcher & cork to someone who will cherish it! Or to your local museum. Companies truly do not make much like they used to : (
I had that red plaid thermos, too! And, of course, the ones that came in metal lunch boxes with the clip. And Mom always warning me not to bread it or I’d get glass in my drink. I still need to have my coffee piping hot, and I still have an old fashioned thermos for long road trips. I would love to have that one on the right in the photo here!
This brings back memories of the lunch box and thermos I had in elementary school. Both the box and the thermos were pink, and had drawings of black poodles and the Eiffel Tower on them. I thought I looked very stylish when eating lunch in the school cafeteria.
I had the Beatles : )
Love the picture! That’s exactly what we did at home when I was growing up, then in our house brewing two pots…until the Keurig entered as a gift and allowed guests to brew a cup from the selection according to their individual taste.
The Keurig definitely has changed the way people think about serving coffee.
I actually really dislike Keurigs. Probably because I never have one cup of coffee. I never drink it past the early morning, but I always have several cups. Now that hotels have Keurigs that means I have to keep making cup after cup.
Does anyone still use a peculator to make coffee at home? I recall my parents using their electric peculator to make coffee when they invited people over for dinner, which is the only time they ever used it. By my recollection, the coffee from it was excellent.
Coffee brewing in an peculators smells so good.
I didn’t realize thermoses had been around that long either. I used to love the small ones that came in matching metal lunchboxes.
I can still remember carefully selecting my lunchbox with matching thermos at the local five and dime when I was a kid.
Thermos for coffee! There is something about coffee that just pronounces irresistible! Only coffee can infuse magic into conversations and is an indispensable part of friendly gatherings.