The Worst Ground Decaf Coffee At The Grocery Store Is Also Pretty Pricey

There's no pulling the wool over devout coffee-lovers' eyes — either the decaf hits or it doesn't. Caffeine-free and low-caffeine drinks are rising in popularity, with an annual estimated growth of around 6 to 7% across the international decaf coffee market. Between an increase in lifestyle changes among the more health conscious younger generations (ahem, Gen Z) and a wider variety of decaf drinks available, the no-caffeine option is officially cool. This also means that bland and boring decaf has no place in your shopping cart. When Chowhound set out to taste and rank eight popular ground decaf coffees found at grocery stores, there was no hiding the joyless feeling that accompanied the first sip of one particular brand's coffee. 

The worst of the bunch, by a long shot, was Folgers Classic Decaf. There are a few reasons why this decaffeinated coffee was an all-around fail, but it mostly came down to a flat taste, strange flavor combination, and an oddly undesirable aftertaste. Folgers Classic Decaf coffee claims to offer a robust and smooth flavor profile, but it actually more closely resembles your first low-quality cup of coffee that makes you never want to touch the stuff again. On top of being the worst tasting coffee overall, it also turned out to be among the priciest options in the ranking too. In the grocery store we used, Folgers decaf coffee retailed for $7.44 for 9.6 ounces, making it one of the more expensive decaf coffees per ounce than other brands in our ranking.  

Suffice it to say that it all depends on where you're at on your personal decaf coffee journey, and the taste you usually prefer. Online reviewers are divided between those who are hooked and those who absolutely despise Folgers Classic Decaf coffee. Unfortunately, the combination of incompatible flavors, a sour aftertaste, and a lackluster ground coffee that doesn't warrant the high price makes it difficult to recommend. Other brands in Chowhound's ranking, which landed in higher positions, offered more complexity with stronger earthier or sweeter notes as well as zero hints of bitterness. The best ranked decaf ground coffee brands also excelled in providing an aroma that anticipated a great first sip while Folgers' version did the opposite, serving as a warning sign of poor-tasting coffee. 

Folgers has an impressive 175-year legacy and has become a staple in many homes across the nation, but perhaps its decaf coffee hasn't quite reached the levels of excellence that the beloved brand's caffeinated ground coffee has. A few decaf coffee drinkers mentioned that Folgers Classic Decaf coffee tastes similarly to caffeinated coffee blends. Some even claimed that the brewed aroma fools their family members into believing that they're drinking a stronger coffee than decaf. 

As such, the blend may be appreciated by those gradually transitioning from regular coffee. However, plenty of people have commented that the aroma was a tell-tale sign that it wasn't going to impress and that the coffee tasted like it contains too many chemicals. Those open to experimentation admitted that they mixed it with other, more flavorful drinks to achieve a better taste. As such, consider combining your Folgers Classic Decaf coffee with a low-caffeine chocolatey Caribbean breakfast drink to amp up the taste, keep things mellow, and save it from going to waste.