Wait! Spices?

On the second floor, a stave of wood is screwed to the ceiling, blocking one of the old roof-vent cutouts. It is printed Domestic Paprika; from the shape, it is a segment of a drum—probably a wooden barrel lid, not a coffee barrel. Spices! That is new.

We are still trying to get our heads around that one: could spices have been sold under the H and H name at the same time as the coffee factory was running, or is it just more packaging from before? No matter what, we are adding H and H Brand Spices (as a line of products) to the list of mysteries the factory is keeping from us. And we still are not 100% sure the building was a coffee factory or distributor.

On 1 July 2014 we added this one-ounce H and H Brand Spices cinnamon tin to the collection. The rectangular can is a classic spice format: a red, gold, and blue paper label on metal, the front panel in large letters CINNAMON and ONE OUNCE NET, the bottom line PACKED FOR HOFFMANN-HAYMAN COFFEE CO. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS under the H and H Brand script. A rotating shaker top still sits in the open ring of the lid; the sides repeat that spices are packed for Hoffmann–Hayman, with light rust and wear from age.

All of the equipment on site was used for both coffee and the spices, so the factory being both at one time (or a later owner) is a fair guess, but a guess. For now, this tin is a tangible link between H and H spices and the San Antonio coffee company name on the line.