The long-standing Folgers Motto, “The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup,” is burned into the American coffee-drinking psyche by an easily remembered jingle.
More importantly, is Folgers coffee good?
In this Folgers coffee review we will look at 3 of their popular roasts (Classic, Black Silk, and Colombian) and shed light on their taste, smell and who the ideal drinker may be.
Folgers Classic Roast Coffee Review
Folgers Classic Roast is part of their medium roast line, with Simply Smooth and Brazilian Blend. Classic Roast is available in caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties and ground or in K-cups.
This coffee has long been the standard for a hearty, pleasant cup of coffee. When properly measured and brewed, this coffee can be enhanced with sweeteners or creamer to take off any edge the drinker may not enjoy.
When brewing coffee, the ratio of water to grounds is critical. Per every six fluid ounces of water, a regular brewing intensity will take one tablespoon of grounds. If you need or prefer stronger coffee, use two tablespoons.
The Folgers flavor seal technology, available on all plastic containers, allows coffee drinkers to keep their coffee airtight until they bring it home from the grocery store.
For those of us who remember purchasing coffee in bricks, this is a great bonus because the coffee remains loose and easy to scoop while it’s protected from air exposure. The first sniff upon opening the container is always a treat.
Folgers Classic Roast is a crowd pleaser and can be brewed to suit nearly every coffee taste. The flavor may not thrill everyone as it can be a bit bland, but the aroma offers a classic coffee scent without bitterness. Fans of a darker roast will appreciate Black Silk.
Folgers Black Silk Review
Black Silk coffee offers fans of truly dark roast a real treat thanks to the smoky, slightly bittersweet flavor. Any additives used in this coffee such as creamer or sweetener only enhance the rich and complex odor and taste.
If you don’t like dark roasts, you won’t like this coffee.
While Black Silk is a much more intense coffee flavor, it’s important to remember that Folgers Black Silk caffeine content will be slightly lower than milder roasts.
The process of roasting the beans removes liquid and thus caffeine from the beans. The darker the roast, the lower the caffeine. This difference is generally minimal, however.
Dark roast coffees in general are an acquired taste. No Folgers Black Silk review would be complete without an honest assessment of the bite of this coffee.
While a strong medium roast coffee can be amended to adjust the flavor for those who prefer a milder taste, this coffee smells, brews and stays dark from first sip to last drop.
The grounds themselves are a black and shiny product, and as soon as you open the container the smoky odor is obvious.
However, once brewed this coffee is an excellent addition to iced coffee drinks as well as drinking it hot. It offers a great background to any flavors or sweeteners you want to add.
Fans of Folgers dark roast coffee would also likely enjoy the Gourmet Supreme roast.
Folgers Colombian Coffee Review
Folgers Colombian coffee is a medium dark roast blend of arabica and robusta beans. If your household features a mix of fans of light and dark roast coffee, this may provide you with some common ground!
The Colombian roast provides coffee fans a full flavor coffee without the bittersweet, smoky flavor of a dark roast.
- Buy Folgers Lively Colombian Roast K-cups on Amazon
- Buy Folgers Colombian Roast Ground Coffee on Amazon
This coffee has a dark edge to the flavor and odor, but no real bite. The odor of this coffee is particularly popular; if you’re hosting friends and want to put them in the mood for dessert, brew a pot of this as you clear away the dinner plates to whet their appetites for the sweet!
Colombian and Black Silk roasts are popular with fans of espresso for a strong brew with a dark flavor, and both of these blends are excellent bases for sweetened coffee drinks both hot and cold.
Folgers Coffee Ingredients & Sizes
Blends
Most Folgers coffees are a blend of arabica and robusta beans. While arabica beans offer a more complex flavor, robusta beans delivery more caffeine.
While you can purchase Folgers coffee containing only arabica beans, unless the label is clearly marked, you should assume you are purchasing a blend.
Location and Labels
Folgers purchases beans from around the world, often engaging in direct trade so as to work closely with the coffee bean farmer.
The labels on Folgers coffee generally don’t list additives; nor do they offer an organic coffee in their product line, though many blends are Kosher.
Types of Folgers Coffee
Folgers offers coffees in mild, medium, medium dark and dark roasts. Depending on your tastes and preferences, any of these roasts and blends of beans can provide an enjoyable cup of coffee.
Whole or Ground
Most Folgers coffee is sold ground, but they do offer a 44 ounce / 1.24 kilos bag of whole beans. This product is not marked arabica or robusta, so the consumer should assume it’s a blend.
Folgers Coffee Can Size Options
Users of Keurig and other pod coffee pots will appreciate the wide variety of K-cups available from Folgers. Single brew cups of everything from the lush Folgers Black Silk to the smooth Folgers Half Caff are available in single pod format.
Coffee singles are available in classic roast, classic decaf and specialty flavors including cappuccino packets of French vanilla and mocha.
Folgers can also be purchased in plastic flavor sealed containers from 10.3 ounces up to the large 33.9 ounce classic roast. For fans of the more unique roasts or flavored coffees, the largest containers that can be purchased will be 12 ounces or less.
Folgers Company Information
Folgers Coffee was started by James Folgers in 1854. He began his career in coffee with Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills at the age of 14; by age 19 he was a full partner in the business. After the Civil War, he bought out his partners and renamed the business JA Folgers & Co.
True to the marketing habits of the time, most coffee beans were bought and sold on their visual appeal, not on their taste.
James Folgers began a process of test-tasting before beans were purchased, and determined that beans grown in the mountains offered the best and most consistent flavor.
Folgers works directly with family coffee plantations in Nicaragua to guarantee quality beans at a fair (though market-driven) price.
Also, the Folgers jingle, in combination with a classic Christmas commercial featuring a returning son, joining the family for a surprise early morning cup of coffee, has become part of the American marketing lexicon.
Currently, Folgers roasts all their beans in New Orleans. Per Jennifer Larino with New Orleans City Business, Folgers made a substantial investment in their New Orleans plant and moved all their roasting process to this facility.
In addition to Folgers coffee, Dunkin’ Donuts and Millstone coffee is processed in this same plant.
Final Thoughts
As with any mass-produced product, Folgers suffers the responsibility of trying to please many unique tastes. They’ve done a good job of providing many coffees in many formats for users with different tastes and coffee needs.
However, if organic coffees or Fair Trade purchasing are critical in your personal spending plan, you may need to look for a smaller manufacturer. Because Folgers buys beans from all over the world, they do not adhere to these restrictions or meet the classifications.
