The people have been taught by the laws and the Pure Food propagandists to believe that the word “Pure” upon a package ensures that its contents are all right. Nothing can be further from the truth.
An article may be Pure and yet be of very Poor Quality; Purity means little. Quality means much. For instance, a Keifer pear is a Pure pear, yet in Quality it cannot be compared to the Bartlett pear. Consider the difference in the quality of butter. Take a number of samples of butter and you will find that some of them will be unfit to eat, and others a delight to use, yet they are all Pure butter, and the difference is in the Quality. The tobacco in a “five-for-a-nickel” stogie may be a Pure tobacco, but it cannot be placed in a class with that of an imported Havana cigar selling at twenty-five cents.
A Spice may be Pure, and yet come from a country known to produce inferior Spices. It may be Pure and yet inert. Consider the difference in Quality between Acheen Pepper and Tellicherry. They are both Pure peppers.
A Vanilla Flavoring Extract made from rank Tahiti Beans costing $1.50 a pound is a pure Extract of Vanilla, but how does its quality compare with that made from high-grade Mexican beans, costing $6.00 a pound? So it goes all down the line.
[Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Celery and Salt]
The time is coming when consumers will realize that the important thing to look for in the purchasing of foodstuffs is not the word “Pure”—but the name of the reputable manufacturer whose dealings are beyond reproach.
Gentlemen: For twenty years past I’ve been using Bee Brand Extracts and Spices, and ever since you’ve added Teas to your products, I’ve used Banquet Blend.
It’s the finest tea I know of and it pleases all our guests.
If you care to use this letter, you have my permission. Yours very truly, The Colannade, M. E. McConn.
In this big drum all the dust and foreign matter is removed from Banquet Tea.
It’s a vacuum process, and it acts in such a way as to thoroughly mix and blend the Teas when two or more are worked together.
There are few Tea houses similarly equipped. Among the 2000 flavors in Tea, the problem of selection and combining is big. It takes expert knowledge to produce a Tea like Banquet Blend. Four successive generations of Tea experts produced the man who weened Banquet Blend from among the many flavors.