Eight O'Clock Coffee facts for kids
| Type | Coffee |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tata Consumer Products (The Eight O'Clock Coffee Company) |
| Country | USA |
| Introduced | 1859 |
| Markets | USA |
| Previous owners |
|
| Tagline | For Those Who Put Coffee First |
Eight O'Clock Coffee is a popular American brand of coffee. It's made by the Eight O'Clock Coffee Company, which is located in North Bergen, New Jersey. This company is part of Tata Coffee, a larger company based in Mumbai, India. The coffee itself is produced at a plant in Landover, Maryland. Tata Global Beverages has owned Eight O'Clock Coffee since 2006.
This coffee brand was first created by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (known as A&P) in 1859. This was the same year A&P started! Even though A&P sold the brand in 2003, their stores kept selling Eight O'Clock Coffee until they closed in 2015. Today, you can find Eight O'Clock Coffee in many other supermarkets across the country.
Contents
History of Eight O'Clock Coffee
- Further information: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
The company that became A&P started in 1859 as "Gilman & Company." They began selling bags of whole coffee beans. People informally called this coffee "Eight O'Clock Breakfast Coffee."
In 1919, the coffee finally got its official name, "8 O'Clock." A&P also had two other coffee brands at the time: a fancy one called Bokar and a mid-priced one called Red Circle. A&P supposedly did a survey to find out when people drank coffee most often. The most popular times were 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. That's how the name "8 O'Clock" stuck!
In 1926, 8 O'Clock coffee won a Gold Medal at a big exhibition in Philadelphia. This award made it stand out from other coffees. Because of this, A&P started focusing more on advertising 8 O'Clock. The packaging was also redesigned between 1927 and 1933. The number '8' changed to the word 'Eight,' and the package proudly showed the gold medal.
By 1930, Eight O'Clock was the most popular coffee brand in the United States. It held more than a quarter of the country's coffee market during that time. In 1933, the packaging was changed again to a cool Art Deco style. These changes introduced the special font that was used on the packaging for almost 70 years. To help sell more coffee, special coffee grinders were put in stores. This made it super easy for customers to grind their coffee right there.
By the late 1950s, A&P stores started to face difficulties. The company's leaders passed away, and there wasn't a strong new leader. Over the next twenty years, A&P closed many stores and left some big markets in the U.S. because of tough competition.
To make more money, A&P decided in 1979 to let its branding division, Compass Foods, Inc., sell Eight O'Clock Coffee to other stores. This even included stores that were competitors!
In 2003, A&P's investors decided to sell the Eight O'Clock Coffee brand. It was bought by Gryphon Investors, a company from San Francisco, California. Gryphon Investors then created the independent Eight O'Clock Coffee Company. After making its own new coffee products, the company was sold again in 2006 to Tata Global Beverages.
In 2009, Consumer Reports magazine gave Eight O'Clock Coffee's 100 percent Colombian brew a "best buy" rating. It beat out famous brands like Folgers and Maxwell House, and even high-end coffee like Starbucks.
On August 8, 2013, the entire Eight O'Clock Coffee line got a fresh new look with updated packaging and exciting new flavors.
Coffee Products
Before 2003, Eight O'Clock Coffee only came as original whole beans. It was sold in an all-red bag. Customers could grind the coffee themselves using grinders available at A&P stores.
The 2003 Lineup
From 2003 until August 8, 2013, the Eight O'Clock Coffee line had eleven different types. These included decaffeinated and flavored options. They came in bags ranging from 11 to 42 ounces, available as both whole beans and ground coffee. Originally, the bags were all colorful. In 2010, the packaging changed to white bags with different color codes for each flavor.
The coffee line from 2003, which was updated in 2010, included:
- Original
- Decaf Original
- 100% Colombian
- Decaf 100% Colombian
- Bokar (this one was stopped in 2012)
- French Roast
- Dark Italian Roast
- 50% Decaf
- Hazelnut
- French Vanilla
- Mocha
The 2013 Lineup
The coffee lineup as of August 8, 2013, was divided into three main groups:
Beginnings
- The Original – available as whole bean, ground, and K-Cup pods
- Dark Italian Espresso – ground coffee
- Dark Italian Roast – whole bean and K-Cup pods
- French Roast – whole bean and ground coffee
- The Original Decaf – whole bean, ground, and K-Cup pods
- 50% Decaf – whole bean and ground coffee
Explorations
- Colombian Peaks – whole bean, ground, and K-Cup pods
- Central Highlands – whole bean coffee
- African Plains – ground coffee
Expressions
- Hazelnut – whole bean, ground, and K-Cup pods
- French Vanilla – whole bean and ground coffee
- Caramel Macchiato – ground coffee
- Chocolate Mint – ground coffee
- Dark Chocolate Cherry (Seasonal) – ground coffee
- Cinnamon Bun (Seasonal) – ground coffee
In 2013, all the different flavors were packaged in similar red bags. This brought back the traditional look of Eight O'Clock coffee from before 2003.
