The Coffee Brand That Defined The '80s Is Consumer Reports' Lowest-Rated Today: 'Over-Roasted And Bitter'

Maxwell House coffee has been frequently found lurking in a loved one's cupboard or seen on-screen in it's musical film feature in the 1986 movie "Little Shop of Horrors." Maxwell House has been around since 1892, and between being everyone's parents' or grandparents' go-to brand and getting featured in musicals about man-eating plants, it's surprising that the brand's spot on a 2026 Consumer Reports list of coffees is dead last. The list features 27 products, and far from the best coffee brand money can buy is Maxwell House due to poor performance in the categories taken into consideration, such as container size and price per pound.

Maxwell House coffee costs $15 for a 24.5-ounce container ($9.80 per pound). The closest competitor on the Consumer Reports list is from Kirkland Signature, with the price per pound working out to $8.00. So, if you're like me and for some reason believed that Maxwell House was a brand you could purchase to keep your grocery budget in check, consider this a non-caffeinated awakening. In fact, Café Bustelo and Folgers ranked higher and cost less than Maxwell House.

Consumer Reports takes the blow a step further with this review: "An over-roasted coffee that's very bitter and astringent, with a burnt, ashy aftertaste and an unpleasant grainy flavor." So, according to CR, Maxwell House offers both poor value and disappointing taste. So how does a brand so beloved in the '80s crash down to the bottom of the list?

Decreased customer satisfaction seems to be contributing to Maxwell House's losing season. In a comment published by Coffee Detective, the quality of Maxwell House is called out. "Maxwell House used to be a reasonable price and have a good flavor. In the last two cans I bought, there has been a huge problem. It just doesn't smell or taste like coffee. It tastes like chemicals. I can't drink it or smell it," they said.

Maxwell House may not be the same flavorful drink many remember, and that's partly because in the late 1980s in an effort to increase profit the company changed the beans to a less expensive variety. However, much of what makes beloved '80s brands stand the test of time is nostalgia. For a while, Maxwell House had a brilliant marketing team with Ogilvy Group. Commercials featuring happy families and songs by Ray Charles evoked feelings of comfort and home. These ads ended in 1989 when Kraft General Foods parted ways with Ogilvy Group. Less impressive advertisements and lower quality beans allowed Maxwell House to fade into the background. 

While not the most expensive coffee in the world, the high cost of Maxwell House coffee in 2026 is hard to believe when compared to the roughly $2.24 it used to cost per pound in 2001. From August 2024 to August 2025, the overall price of roasted coffee rose by 21.7%, the largest percentage increase since 1997. Though to be fair, the decline of Maxwell House runs much deeper than cost alone.