Hag

I originally took this picture because every morning I see it, and of course I have a small giggle to myself. After all, until my first coffee, I could easily be classified as a loving caffe hag.

So I started researching what it was, what it meant. I felt if I was going to try to be clever about something culturally trivial, but funny to me, I should know something about it or be blasted by people who do.

HAG is an acronym for Handels Atkien Gesellschaft (Trade Atkien Society, dunno what Atkien means but the German word Handelsgesellschaft means Partnership or Corporation, and this is what is intended). Caffe HAG is currently owned by Kraft, is a decaffeinated coffee, and is the mother of the Sanka brand better known in the US. To me, Sanka sucks. Caffe HAG is from the same genealogical tree, so by inference of pedigree, it sucks too. I don't drink it, I only laugh at its existence. Apparently, this company is the descendant of the inventor of decaf coffee, Ludwig Roselius, which he patented in 1906.

There is also a rich cultural history of this sucky brand through something called Coffee Hag Albums. The reference of Switzerland having the most complicated series has not gone unnoticed by me.