When it comes to coffee, there are so many brands on the market that it can be hard to choose which one to buy. But when it comes to Folgers, is it really the best choice?Folgers is a popular American brand of coffee that uses a blend of 60% lower and bitter-tasting robusta beans and 40% of the preferred arabica beans to balance the flavor. The company claims to be concerned about sustainability and humane conditions of its workers, but makes no substantial efforts to ensure that its products are produced in a manner that meets fair trade guidelines or sustainability standards.Because of this, there is no way of knowing if chemicals or mold may be present in your mixtures. Furthermore, Folgers coffee is pre-ground and packaged before your customers start brewing their coffee.
The result is an old, stale coffee made with a mixture of mostly low-quality beans that were grown at low altitudes. Most of our testers saw it as an average to good cup of coffee that was soft with a little bitterness, but not much flavor. For each brand, we bought the standard caffeinated black coffee, with the exception of the original Folgers blend, and placed a small portion in cups of nondescript styrofoam to ensure a complete blind taste test. So is Folgers coffee good or not? Well, as much as it varies according to personal taste, they have an excellent brew according to most coffee lovers in America. And the fact that a popular brand like Starbucks is still playing catch-up with Folgers certainly says a lot. I love it and I recommend it with all my heart. However, once brewed, this coffee is an excellent addition to iced coffee drinks, as well as to drinking it hot.
It offers an excellent base for any flavor or sweetener you want to add. Folgers can also be purchased in sealed plastic flavored containers from 10.3 oz to the classic large 33.9 ounce roast. For fans of roasts or more exclusive flavored coffees, the largest containers that can be purchased will be 12 ounces or less. No one claims that Folgers is the best coffee on the market. It works best on drip machines and doesn't really offer much for manual methods like a French press or a Mokka pot.
Still, for most American coffee drinkers who brew their caffeine in the pot, Folgers has a mild flavor that can satisfy the masses. It won't thrill those who have a taste for special gourmet roasts, but it won't offend them either (deeply). When buying coffee, you should consider more than just the price and taste. There are some brands of “dirty” coffee out there and they may be doing harm not only to your body but also to our planet. This is a huge coffee brand and is an iconic American brand. Smucker) states on its website that they are concerned about sustainability and ethical working conditions, they reject all common certifications to ensure that this happens.
This is another iconic American brand owned by Kraft. Once again, this brand rejects sustainability certification, fair trade certifications and does not offer an organic product. Therefore, your coffee may have chemicals and molds present. All your coffee is pre-ground and freshness is a problem. Nescafé is a huge multinational coffee brand owned by Nestlé.
We commend Nescafé for partnering with the Rainforest Alliance, the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C), but they don't offer certified organic coffees. Therefore, your coffee may contain chemicals and mold. Dunkin Donuts is a popular coffee chain serving whole grain and ground coffee in retail and online stores. All espresso drinks prepared in Dunkin restaurants are now Rainforest Alliance certified and about 30% of their dark roasted coffee beans. As for the rest of your coffee, it looks like it could come from anywhere. They don't offer organic varieties, so your coffee may contain chemicals and molds.
The Dunkin Donuts coffee from the grocery store is produced by J, M. Smucker, which is the same as Folgers. This Latin American brand is popular in the Americas. Bustelo is another coffee brand owned and distributed by J, M Smucker and has no certification regarding the ethical and ecological sourcing of its coffee beans. This is not a particular coffee brand, other than its parent company Green Mountain (which, by the way, is a good coffee according to the brand qualifiers we use here), but a method of preparation.
While convenient for the consumer, this method has created an enormous amount of waste that is sent to landfills every year. Plastic capsules cannot be easily recycled in most cities and must therefore be discarded. Here is a good video that further explores the topic. The traditional way of making coffee produces very little waste, since coffee grounds are compostable and easily biodegradable. While Starbucks prides itself on ensuring that ethical and environmentally friendly practices are used in its coffee production and even offers organic varieties, its Seattle's Best brand does not meet the same standards.
It's basically Starbucks's way of competing with cheap brands like Folgers and Maxwell House. They offer a couple of organic varieties. Fortunately, there are hundreds of great coffee brands to choose from. When shopping for coffee, here are some things to look for:
- Look for organic varieties
- Check for certifications such as Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance
- Invest in quality brewing equipment
It all boils down to the fact that for many coffee consumers, a daily cup....
