The Coffee Chronicles

Chase & Sanborn - Chase & Sanborn Coffee is an American coffee company established in 1862. It claims to be the first coffee company to pack and ship roasted coffee in sealed tins. When Standard Brands was formed in 1929 it acquired Chase & Sanborn, where it remained until 1981 when the company merged into Nabisco. Kraft Foods sold the brand to Sara Lee in 2002, and the Chase & Sanborn, Hills Bros., MJB, and Chock Full O' Nuts brands were sold to Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group in 2006.

MJB -- The production of MJB began in 1881. In 1899, Max Brandenstein established the M.J. Brandenstein Company, a spice and coffee import business that took over the brand, with his brothers Mannie, Charlie and Eddie. The company's name was later changed to the MJB Co. to minimise sibling rivalry and disguise their German-Jewish origins. Nestle acquired MJB in 1985. In December 1999, Sara Lee Corp. acquired MJB, along with Hills Brothers and Chase & Sanborn, from Nestle. In December 2005, Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group acquired several US retail coffee businesses, including MJB, Hills Brothers, Chase & Sanborn, and Chock Full o' Nuts, from Sara Lee for US$82.5 million.

Chock full o'Nuts is a chain of lunch counters in New York City that spawned a brand of coffee. In 1953, the coffee brand was introduced to supermarkets. In 1999 Sara Lee purchased Chock Full o Nuts, and as of 2006, it is owed by the Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, along with the MJB, Hills Bros., and Chase & Sanborn coffee brands.

Hills Bros. Coffee -- In 1900, Hills Brothers began packing roast coffee in vacuum sealed tins. They incorporated under the Hills Brothers name in 1906. In 1984 they purchased the name and manufacturing facilities of the Chase & Sanborn Coffee Company. In 1985 Nestlé bought the brand and sold it to Sara Lee in 1999. Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA purchased the brand in 2005

Maxwell House -- Introduced in 1892, it is named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. It is still produced in the USA, and is currently owned by Kraft Foods.

Luzianne -- in the 1890s, grocer William Reily noticed the high demand for coffee products and by 1902, decided to move south to New Orleans to start a business that would roast, grind, package and distribute canned coffee. In December 1902 he started his coffee business and the Luzianne brand was born. The business is still alive today, and operating in New Orleans, LA.

Folgers - The Folger Coffee Company was founded in San Francisco, California as the Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills in 1850, and acquired and renamed by James A. Folger in 1872. It is currently owned by the J.M. Smucker Company, USA.