Folgers Coffee
Folgers Coffee
From Norwich, England to a great Atlantic crossing to the brave new world represented by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Folgers coffee tradition has come a long way. What is the story behind your favorite cup of Folgers coffee?
Early History
The 1600s saw a ship leaving the cold, forbidding shores of Norwich, England. It was bound for Massachusetts Bay Colony and onboard was a small English family which would later on become one of the great names of American coffee.
Peter Folger was 18 years old then. Some time during the Atlantic crossing, Peter met and fell in love with a girl named Mary Morrell whom he married shortly after arriving in America. The young Folger family settled in Nantucket where they raised their six daughters and two sons.
Two centuries later, Folger descendant Samuel B. Folger had several children, one of whom was James A. Folger.
Gold to Coffee
Gold mining was the trend then and in 1849, before the onset of the winter season, the Folger family sent three of their sons to the country with their dreams of gold – James and his two older brothers.
However, since the family only had enough money to pay for passage to San Francisco but not enough to pay for travel to the mining towns, 15-year-old James was forced to stay while his older brothers proceeded to the mines.
At that time, commercially roasted coffee was available but it was a luxury item, even for big city-dwellers. The population at large was entirely unaware of it, let alone ground coffee which was even unheard of at the wholesale level.
James at the time was busy looking for work in order to earn enough money to travel to the mining towns. With his skills in carpentry he was able to find ample work. But the turning point of his life came in the form of a 27-year-old entrepreneur named William H. Bovee, who was looking for a carpenter to build a coffee mill. The Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mill was Bovee's first mill in San Francisco and James' first venture into the world of coffee.
After a year of working in Bovee's mill, James now had enough money to stake a claim and headed out to mine for gold. He came back to San Francisco in 1865 to become a full partner. Later in 1872, James bought out the other partners, renaming the company J.A. Folger & Co.
Under James' leadership, Folgers coffee expanded dramatically. In 1889, James was succeeded by his oldest son, James A. Folger II who spread the word of Folgers coffee in various parts of the country with their principal product of bulk-roasted coffee delivered at grocery stores.
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