Sugar cube

[3] In 1923 German wholesaler Karl Hellmann started packaging pair of cubes into individual wrappings with advertisements or collectible pictures on the sleeves.

Typically, one of the three common processes is used[1] to produce the more popular soft cubes:[5] Historically, sugar was usually shipped as hard solid "sugarloafs", which are difficult to break into small uniform pieces,[5] giving rise to sharp tools and similar contraptions (see photo).

The latter option was described by Lev Tolstoy in his "Where Love Is, God Is": "Stepanich drank his glass, turned it upside down and set the leftover bit of sugar on it".

[5] Tate placed a very large bet on the innovation, temporarily running through personal financial difficulties to the extent that he had to pull his daughter from the boarding school she attended.

[10] In 1880 Tate acquired rights to another process, invented in Belgium by Gustav Adant, where sugar "tablets" were manufactured on rotating machines and then sliced into cubes (at the time, they were called "dominoes").

[5] The new process had replaced the Langen one in 1891 and was a huge success; standard quotes for refined sugar in London started to be expressed in Tate's cubes.

[5] However, the popularity of artificial sweeteners, together with the trend of switching from filtered coffee to cappuccino-like drinks, has turned sugar cubes into a niche product primarily used in bars or served at formal afternoon tea events.

[7] Multiple art galleries display the works of an Irish sculptor Brendan Jamison, specializing on the architecture-themed pieces made of sugar cubes.