H and H Tea, Orange Pekoe High Grade

Finally! We found another product. We’d seen black and white advertisements in old newspapers, and it made sense to use the factory equipment to dry and grind it for packaging. From San Clemente California we received an unopened box of H and H High Grade Orange Pekoe & Pekoe Tea through eBay — the front panel reads “ORANGE PEKOE & PEKOE,” not “Orange Pekoe” alone.

Since we do not have the actual product timeline worked out, we have to guess how old items are. From what we’ve read key-wind coffee tins started in the 1900’s. The oldest tins are the H and H Blend with paper labels. Later they added brands with labels printed directly on the tin, like Master Chef, Sam Houston, and Broncho Coffee. Glass containers started in the 1920’s but H and H announced their Crystalvac Jar in the summer of 1932. Vacuum-sealed bags came last. We’ve seen photographs of H and H Coffee Bags, but haven’t found one yet.

The side panel of this tea package reads “TRY OUR H AND H VACUUM PACKED COFFEE / IN 1 AND 3 POUND TINS” — placing the tea’s production window alongside the H&H vacuum-can coffee line. Tea could have been an early product that matches up with the one pound coffee tin labeled “High Grade” in our collection.