Folgers vs Starbucks – which option is better?

Even if we equip ourselves with the highest quality coffee makers, we still need to remember about the right adjustments and an appropriate method. However, even more important is the choice of the right coffee brand.

There are plenty of different manufacturers that offer us a variety of different types of coffee beverages. These can be instant, ground, or coffee beans. What is more, people also purchase green beans, which need to be roasted first and then ground before we can use it.

There are; however, two incredibly popular makes that provide us with great quality coffee with different flavor, in different shapes, and in different packages.

To make sure which is better, we prepared for you an in-depth comparison of Folgers vs Starbucks, where we take into account the most important traits of these two companies. Besides that, we show the advantages of both options and tell you which to pick concerning your own preferences. 

A little about Folgers

The story of the company starts with James Folgers, who together with his brothers came to San Francisco in search of gold. Nevertheless, he decided to stay behind and help the local coffee shop. After a bankruptcy of the previous owner, he managed to keep the sponsors and bought out the company, rebranding it as J.A. Folger & Co. 

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Back in the days, most of the coffee shops owners and cafe baristas purchased the beans based on their look. It meant that they did not verify their taste and focused only on the appearance. This is when Folgers decided to introduce the idea of “cup testing”, where he was checking many different coffee traders in order to find the ideal one, so later on, he could create a perfect blend to distinguish from the competition.

This is how he found Mountain-Grown beans, which appeared to be much better in terms of taste and aroma. Because of these two superior qualities, they became the main supplier for the Folder’s company.

Sadly, the founder died rather early, because at the age of 54. However, his son was a successful successor of the coffee tycoon. More importantly, an incredibly ambitious salesman was also a crucial element for the exponential growth of the company. 

Frank P. Atha managed to expand sales outside the state of California by cooperating with eastern states grocery owners. What is more, he himself was very invested in helping out the easterners by even preparing the in-store displays and taking part in them. 

Interestingly, it took quite a long time for the Folgers company to release its first instant coffee. It appeared in 1953, so it’s hard to say they were the first to introduce it. Sadly, the customers were not interested in purchasing it because it was not up to their expectations. As a result, it was discontinued. 

The quality of a standard, original coffee was far superior to the instant one. However, 5 years later, a brand new recipe and new Instant Folgers appeared, which was a gigantic success.

With time, the company was acquired by Procter & Gamble, and started to distribute their brand product nationally. Later on, Folgers became even more popular and started releasing their products outside the United States. 

What about Starbucks?

Starbucks, on the other hand, is not a well known coffee producer and distributor. Interestingly, this is not how the entire company started. Besides being a cafe tycoon, they also sold coffee equipment and products. So, how did they change from a coffee product seller into the cafe tycoon? We all know that at this point, they are available literally everywhere due to their high quality services and incredibly refined brewing method. 

Combined with the experience of baristas, it is by far one of the best ways to enjoy a great cup of coffee or any other beverage. But let’s see how their journey started and what is the point of buying their products!

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The first store of Starbucks was opened in 1971 near Pike Place Market. It was founded by three coffee connoisseurs who loved both coffee itself, as well as all additional beverages based on it and tea. Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, Zev Siegl founded a coffeehouse. 

Interestingly, the founders wanted to make use of first-rate coffees and teas. That is why they teamed up with a small store known as Peet’s Coffee and Tea, who was importing high quality products.

Starbucks used him as the initial supplier and with the use of a used roaster from Holland, the owners started to experiment with a variety of green beans. They were trying out different roasting techniques that would help them achieve an ideal blend and mix, so later on they could start selling it. 

As you can guess, it was an incredibly important moment for the company, because later on, in the early 1980s, they managed to open four additional stores in Seattle. Every single one of them could boast with top-quality, fresh-roasted coffees. 

The biggest breakthrough in Starbucks history happened in 1981, when Howard Schultz, a salesman representative from Swedish company, found a large order that the company made interesting. He was so impressed with what he saw and decided to stick around, becoming an employee of the company. 

2 years later, he went to Milan where he noticed many successful cafes. He wanted to bring that back to America. However, the two remaining founders (Siegl decided to pursue other interests and hobbies) were not interested with becoming a cafe chain. As a result, Howard Schultz left the company and started his own.

Later on the owners of Starbucks decided to sell the company and, as you can guess, Schultz was the first to make an offer. He managed to buy the company in 1987 and combine all his previous operations from Il Giornale coffee chain with the well known and respectable brand of Starbucks. In that way, besides selling beans and equipment, he started to provide customers with his own coffee beverages.

It was one of the most successful periods for the company, since it started to open businesses around the entire nation and even beyond. It took them only 9 years to begin opening stores outside the region of North America. This is how the largest coffee-house chain was born. 

The advantages of choosing Folgers over Starbucks

As we can see, the two manufacturers had a pretty interesting way of becoming the number one in their area of expertise. Nevertheless, we should always think about Folgers as the coffee provider first, whereas Starbucks is now more of a cafe chain rather than the coffee shop. 

First of all, we should remember about the fact that Folgers offers us a lot of coffee types. They distinguish thanks to their popular Classic Roast that we all can find in the red tin. However, besides classic ones, Folgers has got a lot of variants to offer. For example, we can choose Black Silk, which is a roasted dark type of beverage. Let’s remember that there are also decaf coffee variants available. 

What is more, let’s bear in mind that we can choose instant coffee types like for example cappuccino. Interestingly, there are also Folgers Aroma options, which basically let us enjoy diverse aromas. 

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That is why, we should remember that Foglers provide us with:

• Original taste of medium-roasted coffee.
• Smooth, rich, and what is more important, a consistent flavor.
• A lot of different coffee types to choose from.

What about the positives of Starbucks?

As far as Starbucks variety is concerned, we should remember about a wide collection of coffee beans and, obviously, pre-ground coffee as well. Obviously, it is not possible to find every type of bean in your shop, because sometimes the local store may not be equipped with the latest introductions. 

Still, most of the catalogue includes the so-called Starbucks Breakfast Blend. Moreover, we can also purchase the smooth Veranda or even some flavored coffees. The most popular are surely Mocha and Cinnamon Dolce. Interestingly, it is hard to find a high quality flavored Folgers products.

In most cases, Starbucks aroma seemed to be very dark and bitter. However, it was in the past. With the introduction of much lighter flavors in Breakfast Blend, the coffee aroma is now much more family-friendly.

What is more, Starbucks’ products are much more versatile in terms of the preparation. We can, for example, use cold filtered water and store our ground coffee with it for a bit longer to acquire the finest taste.

Starbucks offers you a great, medium-roasted coffee that has a smooth and rich flavor, which makes their products incredibly interesting and equally popular as in the case of Folgers’ products. 

We should choose Starbucks if we want:

• Light roast that is a family-friendly option – Breakfast Blend series.
• Starbucks coffee original replicated in our own home.
• Flavored coffee.
• The possibility to introduce a variety by changing the taste with different coffee storing techniques. 

Bear in mind that they are also very similar in many aspects

Though the differences between Starbucks and Folgers are quite visible, we should remember about a lot of similarities that make both these products very popular and likeable by millions of users around the world. 

First of all, both producers offer us a high quality coffee that takes quite a lot of time to be processed and prepared for the customers. It means that we always receive a great flavor, no matter if we order it from the local shop or get it online. 

Let’s not forget about a rich flavor catalogue. We don’t have to put our emphasis on the classic coffee styles that we know from our parents’ home or from the Starbucks shops. We can freely choose one of many other flavors that they have got to offer, including the most exotic ones from around the world. 

It is crucial to notice that both companies started as sellers and distributors, so it is quite easy to guess that they know how to roast the coffee beans in order to get the most flavor of them. 

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Bear in mind that It is not all positive. Being a huge company that sells products around the world, it means that most of their ground products are stored in warehouses for months.

We’re not sure if you realize, but the only type of coffee that does not stale and lose its flavor is the green coffee, which is the one before the thermal treatment. As a result, we are not going to get a perfect flavor of the coffee, unless we decide to buy green coffee from the local shop or at least buy freshly ground coffee from the same source.

Folgers vs Starbucks – which is better for you? Final decision 

As you know, choosing the right brand for the coffee you put into your machine or into your cup directly is of utmost importance. Every brand differs in terms of the taste because they use different roasting methods, their beans come from different farms and from different parts of the world. It all makes it incredibly diverse in terms of the final flavor. 

A very good option that shows us how much care every coffee bean needs in order to guarantee an exclusive taste is definitely Folgers. However, let’s not forget about the fact that Starbucks give you a huge diversity. Both of them are great. However, they vary in terms of their products quite a lot, so it is important to firstly establish our preferences. 

If you are one of those people who love classic products and they don’t want any other flavor of the coffee, then the original medium-roast Flogers coffee will surely appeal to your taste. It is also a bit cheaper than its competition, including Starbucks.

We should remember that if the price is not as a significant factor as the flavor, then Starbucks may occur to be better. It is especially true when we want to experiment with the taste and we want a bit lighter options, or even flavored ones.