Brown and orange
Every few months, you come across a simple fact that everyone but you seems to know. Such was the case for me last week. Who knew that brown pots were for caffeinated coffee and orange pots were for decaf? Evidently, everyone but me.
It started when I was making a fresh pot of regular coffee at work. John, who drinks regular, walked up to get some coffee, but saw that I was using the orange pot, so he assumed I was making decaf. “Aw, I need a cup of coffee—too bad you’re making decaf,” he says.
I was making regular, of course, and I told him. So why are you using the orange pot, he asks. I tell him, “it doesn’t matter what color the pot is, it matters whether it’s on the bottom warmer or the top warmer. The top warmer is for decaf, the bottom is for regular.”
Durr. Now in the back of my mind, for the past six months, I’d been thinking, “what a stupid system this is. When someone makes a new cup of coffee, it has to be on the bottom warmer, since that’s where the water comes through. But if that’s the location for regular and they’re making decaf, do they have to babysit the coffee and warn everyone that what’s brewing is actually decaf?” I knew “the system”—at least the one in my head—was horribly conceived. And yet I failed to innovate.
So I now readily accept the color-coding system over the position system. But here’s what still gets me: why orange for decaf and brown for regular? Why not the other way around? The color orange is like, fiery, and spirited, and stuff. That’s caffeine. Brown is muted. That’s decaf. But the system is the other way around.
My solution: brown for regular and green for decaf. Just seems more appropriate.
November 10th, 2003 at 5:46 pm
yes. it is unbelievable how we get to be old, and never learn or hear about certain things, such as orange for decaff, brown for regular. (i remember being about 18 years old, and never had heard the term “hose” meaning socks. or, i was talking to a friend, who never had heard the phrase “state of the art”.
if you’ve ever ordered decaf in a restraunt, the pot always has an orange rim. just like sanka coffee comes in an orange jar/packet. although, sometimes the coffee pots for decaff ARE green.
November 11th, 2003 at 12:07 pm
Nephew dude:
As your Dad points out, the reason has to do with ancient history before you were born.
In those days (i.e. 50’s thru mid-80’s) the ONLY decaf there was was a horrible thing called Sanka (mostly instant coffee — another term I’m sure you’ve rightly probably never seen or tried).
It came in jars with an orange lid or — for restaurants — in orange colored foil packets. Everyone was familiar with this color scheme and thus patrons and waitresses (there were no servers in those days) could immediately tell the difference.
The brown represented the color of “real” coffee.
Now, why Sanka chose orange as their color is a good question and probably answerable on the internet.
Unk S.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
When I was abusboy at a restaurant in Walnut Creek Calif, we had to put down a paper doily that had orange on it as opposed to white because a teapot went on the liner (coffee cup plate) to let you know you were being served Sanka. The teapot was an individual teapot used for hot water and accompanied by the rectangular orange packet of Sanka!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I recently attended the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. My only gripe was hearing those tacky yet snooty Senseo
coffeemakers that two individuals I knew swore by. They are overated and obscenely noisy. They actually pair well with the individuals I no longer see.