The first company to sell coffee in a sealed tin
container was Chase & Sanborn in 1878. At this time most
people still roasted their own coffee at home. Chase &
Sanborn sold coffee in sealed one and two pound cans as
"Chase & Sanborn Seal Brand" and "Crusade
Coffee".
In 1898 Edwin Norton was awarded a patent for a process to
vacuum seal foods. In 1903 Hills Brothers became the first
company to use this process for tinned coffee.