What coffee was made of in the USSR and why it was considered a luxury item

Most people who lived in the USSR still believe that coffee in those days was the most delicious. There is no point in arguing with this statement because back then coffee was considered a real delicacy and not everyone could afford it.

A can of coffee was valued in the Soviet Union about as much as a bottle of good cognac. It was often used to solve personal issues. That is why coffee was considered a real luxury item. And FoodOboz found out what it was made of.

Ordinary residents of the Union could not buy real coffee because its price was not in line with their salaries, and because it was almost impossible to find it in regular stores. So they had to enjoy a variety of "coffee products" in which the amount of natural coffee did not exceed 15%. The rest of the content was chicory, cereals, and even acorns. These were the drinks served in the canteens, poured into glasses.

Interestingly, it was Lenin who slowed down the development of coffee's popularity in the USSR. After coming to power, he began to actively promote the sale of tea. No official explanation for his actions has been found. Both coffee and tea were considered foreign products in those days, so the promotion of tea looked rather strange. There is even a legend that Lenin got used to tea from early childhood because his poor family could not afford to buy even one can of coffee.