Hobo Coffee Soup Recipe: A 19th Century Survival Meal Loved by All!

Hobo Coffee Soup is a simple, hearty recipe that dates back to the 19th century, favored by both children and adults during tough times. Using minimal ingredients, this meal was a common staple for the poor, likely including Depression-era hobos. Discover how this humble dish served as a source of warmth and sustenance for those who could source its few, affordable ingredients.
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[@Georgecobb-s1v]

James, as a child of the 1940s, I had the privilege of living in the same house with my great grandparents, both of whom were children of Civil War Veterans. Although he was not a hobo, many times I saw him dipping his biscuit or other breakfats bread into his coffee. At age 83, I have never developed a taste for coffee. Interestinly, I have a coffee pot and enamel cup just like the ones used in this video. I noticed that the evaporated milk is Carnation. I also remember an advertisement/commercial from my childhood & youth which said, "CARNATION milk comes from "contented" cows! " I am confident that many of today's younger generations have never heard that commercial, but I thought that it might bring a smile to your face.!! As I've said many times before, I deeply appreciate your prayers before meals and your living the values of your faith. Thank you & May God bless you!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thank you so much for the information and may God bless you too!

[@SteveSpence-cc4pp]

I'm 10 years younger than you (born in July 1951) and I (and my 3 younger brothers) grew up eating bread (torn into pieces in a bowl and sprinkled with sugar) with milk poured over the top as you would cereal. My Dad was born in 1912 so he lived through the depression. I've never associated the bread, sugar and milk with a household lacking food. It was always a bed time snack for us on many nights. Now, I know that my Dad might have lived on this during the depression years which is how he came to know about it. I remember my Dad stating that they survived the depression because his parents had a substantial garden - along with chickens and pigs - when the depression came about. I did grow up rather poor not even having much in the way of toys as a child. Now, I understand much better just how poor we were while never lacking for any necessities such as shoes or winter coats. My Dad was saved and evidently, the Lord provided for the whole family as I and my brothers grew up. I was saved at 9 years old and I can now look back with 20/20 hind sight and "see" many times the Lord has provided for me, my wife and our children and even now as a widower continues to provide for all my needs on nothing but social security. Even so, come, Lord Jesus Rev 22:20 KJV

[@nealgrey6485]

This reminds me of dunking donuts in coffee!

[@davesanders9203]

WELLLLL, I commend you "Old man" ! It's rare that I encounter someone older that's than myself!

[@richardabernathy6242]

I like that you pray before your meal

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks, my faith is very important to me!

[@LawDog79]

Absolutely love coffee soup. It has been a staple in my family for years.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Great!

[@lorij3786]

I’m 50 now and had the pleasure of growing up with great grandparents and a grandmother that survived the Great Depression, this was often a breakfast or snack but being French Canadian we also did this with maple syrup in a bowl, a little milk, cream if we had it and some bread. Fond memories

[@j.michaellanaghan6225]

Right on, more hobo recipes. These I find fascinating and like to watch.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Glad you like them!

[@kevinmathis1278]

Thank you, James. Your videos are always looked forward to and eagerly watched in my home. Kerp up the great work.

[@bryanbrowning5746]

My Mom used to make brown bread, and my Dad would dunk it in his coffee but minus any sweetener, only a teaspoon of heavy cream. They grew up in the 1930’s, in large families, so my grandparents had to feed them what they could afford, if it wasn’t grown in the garden. Interesting video, especially with the addition of the quotes from newspapers of the day! 👍

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much!

[@TUKByV]

I really wish my parents could have watched your channel. They were both children of the 40's who grew up on very small farms. My dad often had cornbread or saltines in a cup of coffee, sans sugar or cream, especially on chilly mornings.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@Blrtech77]

James, Thank You Once Again For Sharing Your Vast Knowledge With Us! I Always Learn Something New and Be Safe and God Bless.

[@terryweston566]

Always enjoy your history talks. Coffee soup at our next campout. Thanks. 🙏

[@WayPointSurvival]

Wonderful!

[@Pooch1953]

While I have never been a coffee drinker, my late mother was, she was born in 1934 and told me many times of drinking coffee soup for breakfast. She was next to youngest of 13 children and this was an inexpensive way to feed them breakfast. She said they had it both with crackers and bread. She spoke fondly of having and enjoying it growing up.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching and for adding this family information to the comment section!

[@artiknanook9189]

It was my grandfather’s lunch when he was a child working in a mine in Belgium at the age of 8. It also served his lunch, as well as that of his comrades when they were at the front and maneuvering during the Second World War. He kept this habit afterwards, it was his lunch and also his dinner.Despite what Ms. Stressfull thinks, my grandfather could easily crush my hand at the end of his life, 88 years old. Love your work. Thanks a lot.

[@doctortomato9520]

Loving the content! keep up the quality videos :)

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thank you! Will do!

[@MichaelForte-uf4nf]

I really enjoy your videos. They have a calmness to them.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much!

[@katem2411]

My grandpa used to make us grandkids coffee soup as a snack off the woodburning stove in his machine shed. He'd usually use raisin bread, tasted lightly on the stove, skip the sugar, and use sweetened condensed milk (he liked that in his coffee) instead. It was delicious and much better than trying to convince our grandmother to give us a snack at the house 😂 thanks for a great memory As a more practical aside, I can see this being a good way to make stale bread palatable.

[@WayPointSurvival]

That's a great idea!

[@johnlynch7834]

Thanks James. I remember my dad dipping any sandwich he was eating in his coffee Usually toasted cheese or fried bologna. Have a great day

[@WayPointSurvival]

Interesting! Thanks for watching!

[@DanielBelliveau-y5x]

As a homeless person I did something very similar ; not having enough water for morning coffee and breakfast , I made oatmeal with brown sugar in my coffee with coffee whitener as well . That was a long time ago and I'd completely forgotten about it , until the hobo coffee soup brought it back to mind . Take care Mr. Bender and happy trails ! ! !

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so very much!

[@LaineyBug2020]

Hearing that review or editorial or whatever it was, I thought, "Excuse me ma'am, are you going to go around to their houses and supply them all with your rashers of bacon and eggs? Hmmm? Just look down your nose, eh? I see...." Lol, had a whole conversation with them

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@tenchraven]

Time changes, people don't

[@HootOwl513]

Those little brown loaves with the oats sprinkled on the top look exactly like the Brown Bread the waiter brings you at the Outback Steakhouse, to munch while you decide on your order. Many times I've taken them home to have for breakfast --- with black coffee.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Indeed.

[@jilljueling3885]

At a young age, I drank half coffee/half milk, at my Norwegian grandparent’s house, and often ate white bread sandwiches with butter and sugar. Yum!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@sigrid2402]

Add a little cinnamon,😃. Swedish here.

[@jimohara]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[@CodyBrandt580]

I'm just 40 years old, but mu grandparents were a very large part of my life growing up. With my grandmother watching me while my mother was at work, and later when I went to school my buss wou pick me up and drop me off at my grandparents house, I got to experience many of the dishes that they ate growing up. Goulash was dinner every Friday night. Bacon or sausage with eggs and toast was a very common breakfast, but we alway had biscuits and gravy every Sunday before church, with fresh donuts from the bakery as a treat after church. But, coffee soup was a delicious treat that grandma would often make on Saturdays. Granted, grandma was a fan of instant Maxwell House decaf, so it didn't give me the jitters. But I remember being as young as 3 years old and sitting on the porch in the evening with grandma after working the large garden in back, and she would make me a small coffee to enjoy with her, with sugar and heavy cream just like she liked it. We'd sit there and talk about the Bible, or she would tell me stories about her childhood or when she was raising her own children. And the most treasured stories were about her father who was a Native American man who had fought in both world wars. He too had been a Hobo before marrying her mother who had become a widow soon after America entered WW2. He was an interesting and talented man who had lived a very long and often tough life. And she told me that he would often take her hiking with him as a child, and that they would often enjoy hot coffee soup together while out hiking in the mountains and forrests.

[@tomritter493]

My uncle hurby ate stale homemade bread and lard every day for lunch in the mines drunked in straight black coffe

[@WayPointSurvival]

Yes. Poor man's food for sure!

[@ManInTheWoods76]

I have fond memories of my grandmother making breakfast for me daily. It was flake biscuits dipped in half melted butter and syrup. To die for. Bless her poor hillbilly heart. I miss her hollering, "Rise and shine, boys!"

[@donl1410]

Ate it growing up in the 60's. We just called it coffee toast. Two slices of toast, sometimes buttered, covered with coffee and and sugar to taste. When my dad made a quick breakfast, that worked out well. I forgot all about it, until now. Gotta make it again. Thanks for the memories.

[@NGMonocrom]

Literally never heard of this before. And, I'm nearly at the half century mark. ☕

[@paulellsworth7679]

Awesome video, I really enjoy the videos you make, bringing forgotten things back to life. May God bless you!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much!

[@geoffupton]

i think im going to try this, looks really nice and isnt complicated to prep 😁 ta james, please keep these mixed in with your other vids they are so fascinating and interesting

[@WilliamWorkman-wg1ib]

Another awesome video! I can't imagine coffee soup was any worse for people than, say, Coco Pebbles today.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Right?!

[@craigeckhoff99]

Former 50 of 74 years a hobo. A jewel of a video. Grew up in a making just enough family. Ma would cook something similar called milk toast. Was toast with a little hot milk and sugar poured on it. Reminds me of bread soup that was common in our civil war also. Now our house drank tea tho as you could get two cups from one bag. As you say crackers also used. Some suppers growing up were basically chicken broth with crackers in it if we had them or torn up bread if there was no crackers. My sometimes very thin hobo stews often blessed with a loaf of stale bread to fill the belly.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words of support, my friend!

[@johnodonnell4192]

When we had breakfast, when I was a child, we had coffee soup and loved it.

[@nancysalerno7036]

Reminds me of the milk toast my mother would make me when I was sick. Buttered toast with hot milk poured over . Always made me feel better. Also a shredded wheat biscuit buttered and sugared lightly broiled/ toasted with hot milk poured over. I would eat coffee soup, would have been great at camp. Of course love coffee ice cream. Thanks!

[@WayPointSurvival]

You're very welcome!

[@ruthcowden1386]

My mom gave me hot milk toast, too. I still eat it when I'm recovering from an illness.

[@motormaker]

My grandfather called it toast soup. Toasted bread, buttered,and cut into cubes with warm milk poured over and served with salt and pepper. He would eat it when he had a stomach bug or flu.

[@Traderjoe]

I like the bowler derby hat. It is actually a great design and keeps the rain off your head and neck and keeps you warm as opposed to a ball cap only shielding the eyes. I just got a crushable wool version from Stetson.

[@4ager505]

Never heard of this dish...but my Mom, who grew up in the era of the great depression, used to make a coffee cake. It was made with fresh brewed strong coffee in the batter, and iced with enough sugar added to milk to create a thick, sticky paste like icing. Sounds like your dish and hers were at least somewhat similar. Thanks for posting this...very interesting...

[@Mike-rx3mn]

Looks like it would fill the belly and be warm on cold days, I can see why the poor back in the day would like it, Thanks, Big thumbs up.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much!

[@MikeMiller-rt7dv]

Great vid! Regarding the articles you read, children seem to be fond of coffee soup - children like to eat and not starve! Alot of great food has few ingredients.

[@jstb6102]

When I was a boy, we sometimes had biscuits mixed with milk and coffee for breakfast, but often it was just bread, like hobos. And we were all happy in my family!

[@peterbailey6930]

Great video James. I remember as a young boy my granny dunking her bread in the coffee she made.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much, my friend!

[@DollyTheLlama]

It's almost like a caffeinated version of bread pudding, without the baking. I can definitely see the appeal of it because bread pudding can be delicious.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@rogueraven7603]

Looking forward to trying that. Sometimes you don’t need nutrients just calories so you can get on with your day and find nutrients later. Survival can be a balancing act.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Absolutely!

[@jimsteele7108]

I love this channel!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks!

[@melindaroth5796]

Learn something new everyday. Thank you Brother ❤😊 I Love it. 😊❤

[@WayPointSurvival]

You are so welcome!

[@SonnyCrocket-p6h]

you do GREAT presentations, Sir! I dont often agree with you about the desirability of such gear, but it might one day be all that a lot of people can access, so please carry-on with this work!

[@WayPointSurvival]

I appreciate that!

[@audreybender739]

Interesting tidbit of history!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks!

[@DG-hb8rh]

Hey my breakfast tomorrow ! Thanks for your video's

[@WayPointSurvival]

Hope you enjoy!

[@nathanwhite5602]

Cool video never heard of this one

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@Lasaril-e9i]

This recipe is amazing! Leave it to "creative necessity" to come up with such a simple carb recipe to get you up and on the road.

[@johnblocher8431]

I'll add coffee soup as an option. I occasionally make tea oatmeal, where I make a cup of tea and then put the oatmeal in the hot tea. Hot cocoa oatmeal made the same way is excellent for a special occasion.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Good stuff!

[@ruthcowden1386]

Dad would cut up bread or crumble crackers, sprinkle a little sugar and then pour milk over it. I kind of figured it was like the early cereal. My folks grew up in the great depression and were content with simple foods.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Interesting. Thanks for watching!

[@user-el7jctrio]

Классный сториный рецепт👍🏻👍🏻 Обязательно сделаю кофе суп😋

[@WayPointSurvival]

Excellent! Thanks for watching!

[@user-el7jctrio]

@@WayPointSurvival 🤗🦅🌻☀️

[@sineriafrankenstein7316]

Wow what an interesting recipe!!! Very enlightening! Great video as always!! Thanks!!❤

[@WayPointSurvival]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cvz8849]

Love every one of these videos!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much!

[@robyndavis3043]

My grandparents used to eat this when i was growing up in the early 1970’s (and they were middle class)

[@aaron2709]

Fascinating.

[@theresaconley5930]

Now I know there is an actual recipe for this. We also made coffee gravy. It was usually put over biscuits, green beans or whatever was needed to stretch a meal.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Excellent!

[@4ager505]

I think coffee gravy is known as "red eye" gravy in the Southern part of USA...

[@fred414141]

I remember my Grandma back in the early '60's would put a piece of stale cornbread or a stale biscuit in a bowl, spoon on the sugar and douse it with strong coffee ...now I know where that came from! The part that accompanied, I have never seen anywhere, but my Grandma .... in her coffee cup full of strong and almost boiling hot coffee she would drop in a chunk of cheddar cheese.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Very interesting!

[@Thomas-n4r]

Camping/hiking or on the road I'll often have breakfast of black coffee mixed with flavored instant oatmeal which usually has dried "fruit" and whatnot in it. Expedient and satisfying. I'll have to try it with some condensed milk.

[@billwolfram412]

Many Thanks James !!!!

[@WayPointSurvival]

You're welcome!

[@earlshaner4441]

I still use a coffee pot like the pot you are using on my campouts

[@WayPointSurvival]

Very cool!

[@earlshaner4441]

@@WayPointSurvival yes my friend and I find older stuff gets the job done

[@paulrovere2859]

my father had that for breakfast pretty much every day.

[@kaldicuct]

I actually did this not knowing it was a thing but I used corn bread mix and added coffee and made kind of like cream of wheat. Thinking on it, my grandmother made something called milk toast. It was toast in hot milk with cinnamon.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Interesting!

[@GuillaumeCroteau-e7f]

Great video my friend and a great history lesson too

[@WayPointSurvival]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@josephmartin1540]

Brother, again! About 1960 when they had no idea of lactose intolerance [which I always had big time] coffee settled my guts. THIS is how I didn't through up milk or breakfast every time! [PS, finished the 1700s series. BEAUTIFUL. now, to finish the others!] BOOM! And that pack is like the one I used in Boy Scouts and then EDC for about 20 years overall... until a really big fire and water rot finally got to it! The LORD does know, I have done this... not knowing it was a thing... when I felt badly in the guts! Worked until the lactose proved to be also an issue! Mods, we make in need! Gluten free, it STILL works at 67 plus 8 months! Carry on!!! Toast and coffee like this [less the milk] kept many a meal down when a toddler!

[@savagepro9060]

I can almost imagine instant-coffee bread soup

[@WayPointSurvival]

That works good too.

[@BeingRomans829ed]

This would be good to eat while listening to Charley Pride's hobo song The Atlantic Coastal Line, which I just heard tonight and had not heard in many years.

[@timothyvanderschultzen9640]

Great use of stale bread when times are lean.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Absolutely!

[@AnthemBassMan]

My Wife and I both grew up with something similar to this. Except we had it made with buttered and sugared toast with coffee mixed with a lot of milk poured over it.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Very cool!

[@KevinSmith-yh6tl]

You learn something new everyday. I've never heard of this before. And I thought I was well versed in Old Timey ways. Makes me feel ignorant. Oh well, live and learn. 👍👍

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching! I'm amazed as well about how many things I didn't know about yesteryear.

[@robertgraham1626]

My great grandfather ate that,when I was a kid, I tried it, it wasn't that bad, at all. Cool story,thank you❤

[@davesanders9203]

It's CLEAR AS A BELL that YOU are having toooo much FUN with your channel!!!!!! That's not not just a personal comment '' Other KZbin creators are copying your theme!

[@terryfallert1371]

Love this channel

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks so much!

[@steveg9674]

Life is not about eating, making it taste better, makes it go further....

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@FrigginKlar]

I have never had coffee soup but I have always dunked doughnuts in coffee until they were soaked.. It is a similar idea. It is a working class thing to do.

[@bushnut8305]

OG Dunkin Donuts

[@WayPointSurvival]

Right!

[@crazymanbigj]

Probably healthier than most modern breakfast cereals.

[@williamjacobs288]

I will be trying coffee soup. Thanks James!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Hope you enjoy!

[@jeffgrier8488]

I would definitely try it!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@pinklickpony7162]

I love stale bread in coffee for breakfast. Much nicer than modern cereals.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@ahabstar]

Never had coffee soup. I have had plenty of ham and eggs with home fries and red eye gravy. I can recall only having bannock and a cup of coffee for breakfast on a number of overnighters. And dunking the the bannock.

[@beerdrinker6452]

Nice video. Thank goodness I have never been that hungry.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Amen!

[@jerriscollins-ruth9019]

Thank you for coffee soup

[@gregtheredneck1715]

I had never heard of coffee soup before, very interesting. I do recall reading how soldiers in the Civil War pouring hot coffee over their hardtack to soften it for eating. I suppose if they had sugar they probably used it.

[@phyllismulkey3778]

my aunt used to eat that all the time . they were from the city ,had money. she called it a coffee soak

[@dougbond6007]

I don't like dark bread but i will try it with white bread and also corn bread i already eat cornbread with milk or evaporated milk and sugar or molasses as a dessert quite often

[@WayPointSurvival]

Yes, I'm sure they used whatever was available.

[@onlyinparadise4613]

Will you please make a series with the Stanley lunch box? Thanks 🙏

[@nealgrey6485]

Pull off a bit of the bread and press it into the small hole. This works great!

[@lauriemclean1131]

Sounds odd at first, but the modern version of it would be coffee & donuts. Of course, snooty people would scorn it as a most unhealthy "meal." 😂

[@jeepfvr]

Never heard of coffee soup but this is similar to what I mentioned in the Hobo Christmas Dessert video that my dad would make. Interesting. I might like this one better.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for watching!

[@jeepfvr]

​@@WayPointSurvival I live in deep country, raised on hobby farm with rabbits, goats, pigs, and chickens. The best life! (Until Christ returns anyway). My dad would make a tool if he got in a punch. We've done plenty to survive in modern times so it's enjoyable to watch how folks did things way back when, and learn from it. Your videos are great and educational. Thanks for putting in the time and research for the videos; it's lots of work.

[@abcstardust]

Definitely going to try Coffee Soup. Heck, I’m a bit of a bean head anyway! lol

[@MichaelR58]

Wonderful video, never heard of this before, thanks for sharing, YAH bless brother !

[@WayPointSurvival]

Glad you enjoyed it and God bless you too!

[@imhigh0013]

Used to be able to buy a large sized Wheatie, and you'd pour either tea/milk or coffee/milk over it, for a breakfast bowl. No sure it had a name, wondering if it's same as your coffee soup.

[@BLACKIETHOMAS]

looks good sir

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thank you kindly!

[@feartheoldblood]

James, I love your content and I always enjoy the journey. I'm only curious when I ask, do you do youtube for primary income or just supplemental? Again, just curious.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Supplemental.

[@Cyber11111]

Artisan bread, and evaporated milk; your coffee soup is high class! 😂😂😂 My deplorable coffee soup recipe uses powdered milk and cheapo salt crackers or any available cheap bread.

[@WayPointSurvival]

That would indeed work as well!

[@gonzalez7805]

Awesome... A new way for me to eat bread ... Thanks... ☕🥖

[@WayPointSurvival]

Thanks for liking the video!

[@m0riss]

You don't have to go that far in to the past. Bread with sugar was a treat in the 1980s served to me by my grandmother in communist Poland. Dipping biscuits/bread in coffee tea or stews is something you will still find in Poland.

[@pietrayday9915]

I doubt I would be the first person to notice that this sounds remarkably like the popular modern pairing of coffee and donuts - with the donuts dipped in the coffee - as a quick-and-easy working breakfast! I'm willing to bet that as one faded into relative obscurity, the popularity of the other rose in its place alongside the availability of donuts as a sweet alternative to the bread and sugar.... EDIT: Seems like doughnuts (popularized in America as "donuts" in the 1940s and 1950s) have had a long history in America, England, and among t e Dutch colonists in America, going back to the 1700s and 1800s, and the combination of coffee and doughnuts seems to have wide appeal in North America and Northern Europe, but from what I read at a glance it sounds like doughnuts got a boost in popularity in America the wake of factory-produced donuts in the 1920s, followed by vendors selling them at the World's Fair as "donuts" by the 1940s - which seems to coincide roughly with the time period when coffee soup seemed to be fading away in popularity. Coincidence? Maybe, but I still can't help noticing that donuts dipped in coffee, as a stereotypical breakfast-on-the-run for laborers, police officers, and office workers in America, seems to have almost perfectly filled the void left by coffee soup at just about the right time!

[@boogaboogaboogaable]

Tell Felix he needs to visit the states!

[@WayPointSurvival]

Absolutely!

[@tomballard8877]

I wonder how it would be with canned brown bread. That coffee looks like the stuff Lisa Douglas made on Green Acres.

[@57WillysCJ]

Interesting. Must have been a replacement for the old milksop. Even when I was young if we forgot to get cerial, I would have bread pulled into pieces and covered with some sugar and milk. Funny an older freind said he worked for a family farm for a few monthe one summer and their hired hand would pour coffee on his cornflakes. It was all the same to him which was strange because it was a dairy farm with no shortage of milk but I could see him having this as a kid and thinking it didn't matter.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Good stuff!