Contributed by Richard Estelle
Before there were gourmet latte shops and drive-up espresso stands, getting one’s morning caffeine was both simpler and more complicated.
In more recent years when blended coffees and varieties grown around the globe became available (pre-packaged, vacuum packed, regular, caffeine-free, Columbian, Brazilian, etc.), the hardest thing about creating a good cup of coffee at home can often be making up one’s mind on what kind to have.
No such quandary was faced long ago when a sack of coffee beans at the local country store was often folks’ only source. Choices might have been “dark” or “light”, or more likely, “coffee” or “no coffee”. To fill a customers’ request for a pound of coffee, the store proprietor scooped beans from the burlap sack, placed them in a large ornate grinder at the end of the counter, turned the handle a few times and presented the customer with a paper bag of fresh grounds.
What “country store” or lodge once housed the coffee grinder in our museum’s collection we don’t know, but it’s identified as a “#9 Enterprise ‘Country Store’ model”, manufactured by the Enterprise Mfg. Co. of Philadelphia and patented on July 12, 1898. Its cast iron body and 18 1/2 in. diameter wheels are painted red and decorated with ornate decals. A white porcelain knob facilitated opening the top cover to pour in roasted beans. An identical knob allowed extraction of a wooden tray below containing the ground product after the turned wheels activated grinding teeth as the beans fell inside the housing in the middle.
When new, the top cover sported a small gold cast iron eagle which is missing from our machine. While our grinder has only one handle, it’s likely there were handles on both large wheels when in use.
