Sanka Decaffeinated Coffee

In the past 80 or so years, if you have visited a diner, you have probably noticed at least two coffee pots positioned behind the counter. One will have an orange handle, the other a brown, black, or gray handle. This is the standard procedure. Decaffeinated coffee is orange. It's similar to an unspoken rule. Even though it isn't recorded, there is a reason for it, and Sanka, one of the most well-known coffee brands in the world, is in the center of that reason.

Sanka is popular even if you've never purchased it or even heard of it. Or, at least, it was. Starting in 1923, jars of Sanka, a German product, were marketed with an orange label. General Foods acquired the business in 1932 and distributed promotional coffee pots to eateries and coffee shops across America. They were orange pots. Thanks to Sanka's success, it spread so widely that today, everywhere you go, you know that orange denotes decaf.