Millions of Americans enjoy the aroma of Folgers or Maxwell House coffee brewing each morning. The two iconic brands are still number one and number two, respectively. Folgers and Maxwell House are still at the top of the pyramid when it comes to popularity in America. But, there is some value in the nostalgia, and the warmth, that only an occasional cup of regular, average coffee can provide.Īnd that is why Maxwell House and Folgers are available, because that warmth, and nostalgia, for many people, are all they need out of their coffee. The comparison is unfair to begin with, on multiple levels.
Gourmet coffee is far superior in every way, don’t get me wrong, I am in no way saying that truckstop coffee, or the basic drip coffee they serve at average diners around the world, can even hold a candle to the bouquet of a freshly-ground single origin roast in a pour over. Regular coffee gets a bad wrap but there is a warm place in many people’s hearts and minds for a regular old cup of joe. The result is a pretty basic cup of coffee, not that there’s anything wrong with regular coffee. A pre-ground mix of arabica and robusta beans that were likely sourced from multiple coffee farms around the world. At their core, these two budget coffee brands offer a very similar product. So, which company has the better product? Is Folgers really the best part of waking up? Is Maxwell House really good to the last drop? Unfortunately, the similarities between the two brands seem to amount to more than the differences.
Folgers’ catchy jingle, “The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup,” is a tune that most people know well, and was an excellent marketing campaign for the coffee giant. Maxwell House’s, “good to the last drop,” is mysteriously tied to former US president Theodore Roosevelt, but has served the company quite well for decades. Robusta beans have a more bitter flavor, and also contain higher amounts of caffeine, sometimes as much as two times more caffeine than the typical arabica bean.Īs far as advertising teams go, most would agree that Folgers and Maxwell House are both household names due in large part to their equally impressive slogans/jingles. Robusta beans are more common, and can be grown practically anywhere, making them much cheaper to source than arabica beans. Arabica beans also taste better, and have a more subtle, complex flavors and aromas than robusta beans. Arabica beans are more rare, making them more valuable. There are two distinct kinds of coffee bean grown in the world today, arabica and robusta. However, using 100% arabica beans is pricey, and in order to maintain competitive prices with Folgers and other budget brands, Maxwell House eventually had to go back to using a blend of both arabica and robusta beans to the detriment of their product. In 2007, Maxwell House decided to use nothing but 100% arabica beans in their coffee blend, which gave them a noticeable edge over Folgers in taste, aroma, and overall quality. Folgers has held the title of America’s number one budget coffee brand ever since. Maxwell House has enjoyed superiority over Folgers as the number one coffee in America for nearly 100 years, but became the runner-up to Folgers in the 1990’s. Folgers coffee has been on the market since the 1850’s, and Maxwell house has been around since 1892, so both of these budget coffee corporations have been around for quite some time, providing American households with ready-to-brew, freshly roasted and ground coffee.