Camp Coffee

Camp Coffee is a British brand of coffee-and-chicory essence, sold as a dark, sweet, concentrated syrup. The product was first made in Glasgow by Paterson & Sons, a company associated with cordials and other concentrated drinks. Sources identify 1876 as the year of first production, while accounts of the product’s creation associate its development with Campbell Paterson, who was active in the family business and is commonly linked with the 1885 introduction of the coffee essence. The distinction reflects the difference between the company’s earliest production date and later accounts of the product’s development. The essence was originally designed as a convenient domestic substitute for freshly prepared coffee. Consumers could dilute it with hot water or warm milk, or combine it with cold milk and ice. Its formulation consists principally of sugar, water, chicory extract and a smaller quantity of dried coffee extract. The result is a smooth, dark syrup with a pronounced sweetness and a predominantly chicory-led aftertaste. It is not a conventional roasted-coffee beverage and is better understood as a flavored coffee concentrate or coffee essence. Camp Coffee became particularly recognizable through its label. The historical design showed a kilted Gordon Highlander being served by a Sikh soldier in a stylized British-Indian setting. The image promoted the slogan “Ready Aye Ready,” a phrase associated with the 59th Scinde Rifles of the British Indian Army. The original label also created a visual repetition in which the bottle on the tray carried the same label, producing a recursive image. A later twentieth-century revision removed the tray, while a further redesign introduced in 2006 depicted the Sikh and Scottish figures seated together, each with a cup or saucer. These changes altered the presentation of the brand’s colonial imagery without removing its historical setting entirely. Although Camp Coffee can still be prepared as a drink, its principal contemporary role is in home baking. British supermarkets commonly place it in baking sections, where it is used in coffee-flavored cakes, sponges, icing and buttercream. The concentrated format makes it useful for adding coffee flavor without introducing much additional liquid. The brand is also associated with childhood memories and British food nostalgia, particularly among consumers familiar with traditional home baking. The business behind Camp Coffee underwent major corporate changes. In 1974, Dennis Jenks’s business was merged with Paterson to create Paterson Jenks plc. McCormick & Company acquired Paterson Jenks in 1984, after which McCormick UK incorporated the Paterson Jenks activities into the Schwartz brand portfolio. Camp Coffee is produced in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Its commercial identity therefore combines a long-established Scottish origin, a historically distinctive label and continued use as a baking ingredient under the ownership of a large international spice and flavorings company. The brand also experienced a brief resurgence in the United Kingdom in late 1975. Coffee prices reportedly rose sharply after supply disruption linked to severe frost in Brazil, and Camp Coffee became a temporary alternative to instant coffee. Its lasting position, however, has been as a niche but recognizable British pantry product rather than as a mainstream replacement for brewed or instant coffee.

Camp Coffee originated in Glasgow within the Paterson business, which specialized in cordials and concentrated drinks. The product is commonly dated to 1876 in accounts of the brand’s first production, while Campbell Paterson is credited in historical descriptions with creating the coffee essence in 1885. Paterson developed it as a convenient way for households to prepare a coffee-style drink without the equipment and expense associated with conventional coffee preparation at the time. The resulting product was a syrup made from sugar, water, chicory extract and dried coffee extract. It could be mixed with hot water or milk, or used in cold milk and iced drinks. Its sweet chicory character distinguished it from ordinary brewed coffee. Over time, the product’s use shifted increasingly toward baking, where a small quantity could add coffee flavor to cakes, icing and other confectionery without materially changing a recipe’s consistency. Camp Coffee’s packaging became central to its identity. The historic label presented a Gordon Highlander and a Sikh soldier in a British-Indian military setting and used the slogan “Ready Aye Ready.” The early label showed the Sikh figure carrying a tray with a bottle of Camp Coffee, whose label repeated the same scene. A mid-century version removed the tray, reducing the recursive image and changing the visual relationship between the two characters. In 2006, another redesign showed the two figures seated together, with the Sikh soldier also represented with a cup and saucer. The brand’s corporate ownership changed during the late twentieth century. In 1974, Dennis Jenks’s business merged with Paterson, producing Paterson Jenks plc. McCormick & Company acquired Paterson Jenks in 1984. McCormick UK subsequently assimilated the Paterson Jenks operation into the Schwartz brand structure. Production is associated with Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Camp Coffee gained renewed attention in Britain during late 1975, when coffee prices rose during shortages linked to frost damage in Brazil. The essence served temporarily as an alternative to instant coffee. In the longer term, it remained a familiar British pantry product, especially among home bakers and consumers who associated it with traditional recipes and childhood memories. Its present identity is therefore shaped by three overlapping factors: Scottish manufacturing heritage, a historically distinctive and revised label, and continued use as a coffee-flavored baking ingredient.

1. 2006Label redesign

   The label was updated to depict the Sikh and Scottish figures seated together, with both shown with coffee service.

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2. 1984Acquired by McCormick

   McCormick & Company purchased Paterson Jenks plc and later incorporated its activities into the Schwartz brand structure.

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3. 1975Temporary popularity during coffee shortages

   Camp Coffee became a more visible alternative to instant coffee in Britain after price increases associated with Brazilian coffee-supply disruption.

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4. 1974Paterson Jenks formed

   Dennis Jenks’s business merged with Paterson to create Paterson Jenks plc.

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5. 1885Coffee essence developed

   Campbell Paterson is credited with developing the coffee essence for convenient domestic preparation of a coffee-style drink.

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6. 1876First reported production

   Camp Coffee is identified as having first been produced by Paterson & Sons in Glasgow.

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Traditional, nostalgic and practical British coffee flavoring, positioned primarily for home baking while retaining use as a diluted coffee drink.

• Camp Coffee EssenceCoffee-and-chicory concentrate1876

  Camp Coffee Essence is a dark brown, syrupy concentrate made with sugar, water, chicory extract and dried coffee extract. It can be diluted with hot water or warm milk to make a coffee-style drink, or combined with cold milk and ice. In contemporary household use, it is especially valued as a baking ingredient for coffee cakes, icing, buttercream and other confectionery. Its flavor is smooth and sweet, with chicory more prominent than coffee.

• 2006Revision of historical label imageryOther

  The brand’s long-standing label used a colonial-era scene in which a Sikh soldier served a seated Scottish soldier. Earlier revisions had already removed the tray and its repeated bottle image.

  What changed. The label was redesigned to show the Sikh and Scottish figures sitting beside each other, with the Sikh figure also holding or having access to a cup and saucer.

  Aftermath. The revised packaging retained the brand’s historical visual identity while presenting a less overtly service-oriented relationship between the two figures.

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• 2006Camp Coffee label imagery redesigned

  The brand’s label was revised so that the Sikh and Scottish figures were shown sitting beside one another, with the Sikh figure given a cup and saucer of his own.

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• 1975Coffee price disruption increases interest in Camp Coffee

  Camp Coffee reportedly became a popular alternative to instant coffee in the United Kingdom after coffee prices rose sharply during shortages associated with heavy frosts in Brazil.

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1. Camp Coffee