The Folgers Curiosity

Fixed it for ya, J.M. Smucker Company!

Joking around with a friend about coffee recently, it came up that both of our grandparents had stuck to Folgers all their lives. It dawned on me that somehow Folgers is a thing with their generation, even now when much better coffee is readily available. It really sparked my curiosity: why the fuck have they continued drinking shit coffee their whole lives when they don't have to?

My friend surmised it was just a 1940s thing, and that's probably the biggest part of it; Folgers soared in popularity in the 1960s when marketing juggernaut Proctor and Gamble acquired it. It was heavily pushed onto consumers, and the avalanche effect took...well, effect. It became a thing chiefly because of advertising, but also because people bought into the advertising. Like Coca-Cola won over the soda market in our generation, Folgers won over the coffee market in our grandparents'. Once a product sticks, boy does it ever stick. Amazing, considering it's just absolutely horrid coffee. But they didn't know any better.

However, now we live in the age of artisan coffee. Even if one doesn't go for organic, free-trade, hand-brewed whatever, much better store-bought coffee is abundant. There's no reason to buy Folgers, unless you're absolutely broke and can't afford better. So why do our grandparents generation keep using it? Sure, the fact that's it cheap is a plus with retirees minding the finances, but good coffee really doesn't cost that much. There is also probably the element of resistance to change and being stuck in their ways. That is definitely a thing with the elderly (it's amazing we got them to use computers, even if all they do is play Solitaire and Mahjong on them). And of course, there's the fact that we're looking at this with a rose-tinted coffee lover bias; we appreciate good coffee so it's hard to understand why others wouldn't. Actually, more than that, we're simply aware that it exists. Our grandparents probably know better coffee is out there. After all, it is inescapable in today's ad-crazy world. But being aware that it exists isn't the same as having tasted it and actually knowing what it is. They are aware, but they just don't know, man. 

Those might be reason enough, but I have a sneaking suspicion there's something else at play: rations. Our grandparents are the World War II generation. Both soldiers abroad and civilians at home experienced rationing. In the middle of a war, great coffee beans were the least of anyone's concern. You just got what you could as it was the utility that mattered. Not the taste. The goal was caffeine to keep you awake and alert, not to indulge in a peaceful cafe. That was pansy pre-war stuff. Everyone had their duty to see through, dagnabbit! I mean no disrespect to their generation with such jokes. They suffered through an awful war and made huge sacrifices, on the battlefield and at home. The point is: they were used to crappy rations. 

They can stomach Folgers because they not only stomached terrible coffee during WWII, they became accustomed to sacrificing and settling for less in general in the name of the greater good. So Folgers, the shittiest coffee on earth and completely undeserving of even being called coffee, has gotten a free pass. I hope they appreciate it while it lasts, because once our grandparents generation dies, so will Folgers. Only the poorest of poor will put up with that shit, and even then they'll probably find something better that's still cheap. Watch out, Folgers: your number is coming up. Death is coming for you, and you won't be able to worm your way out of it by beating him at chess.