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