Carl Sandburg or his brother Martin regularly held the family coffee mill between their knees and turned the crank to grind the roasted beans. The mill was designed solely for grinding coffee beans. It is called a burr mill as two revolving abrasive surfaces grind the beans into equal-size particles. Mills are still in use today. They can be turned with a hand crank,or nowadays, may be powered with electricity.

In the Sandburg household the ground coffee beans were then added to the grounds already in the coffeepot. After a couple of days, the pot was emptied and cleaned. Fresh ground beans and water were added to the pot which was brought to a boil on the kitchen stove. Mrs. Sandburg may have added an egg to make the coffee flavor smoother.

The Sandburg's bought coffee at the S.H. Olson grocery store on the corner of Berrien and Chambers Streets. Arbuckle's XXX brand was the one preferred by the family.

John and Charles Arbuckle operated a wholesale grocery business in Pittsburgh. In 1865 John patented a method to coat roasted coffee beans with a mixture of sugar and egg white. The coating helped to seal the surface of the roasted coffee beans. It kept in the flavor and aroma of the beans. They were packed in airtight containers to preserve the flavor. One hundred packages of the beans were packed in wooden crates for shipping. Grocers as well as their customers used the crates for storage. Some people took the crates apart and used the wood for household repairs.

The Arbuckle brothers were astute marketers. They packaged their coffee in a red and yellow containers. Coupons were included which could be redeemed for handkerchiefs, razors, scissors and other small items. Each package also contained a stick of peppermint candy. It is certain that Mrs. Sandburg had to supervise the opening of the container of coffee when her children were present.

The Arbuckle company became the largest importer of coffee beans in the country. They built their own sugar refinery and owned a fleet of ships to transport coffee beans from South America.

By the turn of the twentieth century, improvements in packaging made the glazed coffee beans obsolete. The Arbuckle company continued to market a premium brand of coffee which was called “Yuban.” The brand is now owned by Kraft Foods. The Arbuckle company was taken over by General Foods which markets the Maxwell House brand. Special blends of Arbuckle's coffee can still be purchased from various internet vendors.