Popular Maxwell House Blends – But What About Whole Bean Maxwell House Coffee?

Maxwell House – the king of the ground coffee – Experts in coffee since 1892. One of the most popular coffee brands in the US offers a huge variety of blends and flavors starting with the Master Blend, which could easily be confused with their Original Roast coffee. One would think you need to be a seasoned and trained coffee taster to tell the difference between the two.

With the many different varieties you would think that you could buy Maxwell House whole bean coffee.

Let’s go over the list of pre-ground blends from the common to the hard to find Maxwell House coffee.

The first blend here is the Master Blend
Maxwell House Master Blend is the signature light roast. The can will say Light roast, which could be confusing if you assume calling it Light would mean there could also be a Medium and Dark Master Blend. Old designs for the Master Blend may not designate the coffee as a light roast. Breakfast Roast is also a light roast, but a different light than the Master Blend. The coffee is custom roasted for full flavor while also being mellow and smooth. Not available in whole bean. 

$4.48 for 11.5 oz can 2022

Following is the Original Roast, listed as a Medium roast. If you can tell the difference between this and the Master Blend you should be considered a Maxwell House Expert Coffee Taster. The Original just sounds like it would be a standard Right in the Middle coffee. Nothing unique or ground breaking, but still has that classic Maxwell House taste. Can you buy the Maxwell House Original Roast coffee beans? No, this is not an option. 

Next is the popular Breakfast Blend coffee. Like the Master Blend this is also a Light roast. On the Light scale the Breakfast Blend is lighter tasting than the standard Master Blend. Most lighter roasted coffee has a little more caffeine than a Medium or Dark Roast. Not enough to announce on the package, but enough to consider if you want a little extra pick up from caffeine in the morning. This is usually true of any brand that has a Breakfast Blend. Lighter taste, and more caffeine. The combination is perfect for the first cup of the coffee for the day. Tagged as bright and light for breakfast. The light roast is ideal for those that prefer to drink their morning coffee black. Sold as ground coffee – and made with “100% Coffee Beans”. 

The mysterious Maxwell House Wake Up Blend
Could be confused with the standard Breakfast Blend, a light roast. The roast level is Medium and is made with 100% coffee beans. The main difference in the two seemingly Morning Blends is the roast level. Mysterious because the name would imply that it has extra caffeine to wake you up in the morning. The Medium Roast has a stronger coffee flavor, but does not have extra or added caffeine. I would consider this the same as the Breakfast Blend, just a darker roast.  

Wait, Maxwell House also makes a Morning Boost blend?

Is this Morning Boost a Breakfast Blend with added caffeine?

Since the other morning blends do not have added caffeine, the Morning BOOST should have, you know, a BOOST of caffeine. The blend is a medium roast, like the Wake Up Blend, but somehow different. Also made with 100% coffee beans, and sold as ground coffee only. Not available as Maxwell House Whole Bean. UPC : ‎ 043000063842

On to the next Maxwell House variety!

Maxwell House MAX Boost – mostly sold as k-cups, but can also be found in a small can.

So, does THIS blend of Maxwell House have extra added caffeine?

Yes! In fact it has 1.75x More Caffeine than their traditional blends. The box of k-cups states it is made with Coffee. This is good for a bigger caffeine boost in the morning, but not for everyone. The extra caffeine can be too much for some people. Think of it as drinking two cups of coffee in the time it takes you to drink one cup of coffee. You can get extra caffeine just by drinking more of your usual coffee blend. Not as intense as quickly drinking a Red Bull energy drink, but close. Folgers had a similar extra caffeine blend, and it was not very good (too much caffeine all at once). The MAX Boost falls into this category. 

Other Maxwell House blends to consider:

100% Colombian – Medium
French Roast – Dark roast
House Blend – Medium
House Blend Decaf
Half Caff – Medium
Vanilla – Medium
Intense Bold
Smooth Bold
Dark Roast – Bold
Dark Silk – Dark Roast
Maxwell House Ultra Blend – roast level unknown, a hard to find blend that appears to be special for restaurant and hotel use.

The instant coffee offered by Maxwell House does not include as many blends as you can buy of ground coffee.
The easiest instant International blends to find in stores:
Original Blend instant
Original Blend Decaf
Maxwell House Professional Instant Coffee Rich Blend Tin – Not sold in the usual glass container. A hard to find medium roast.

Other versions of their instant include the flavored versions sold as International Coffee:
Cafe Francais
Vanilla Caramel Latte
Hazelnut Cafe
Orange Cafe
French Vanilla Latte
Suisse Mocha Cafe
Cafe Vienna
Chai Latte, which is actually an instant tea, and often listed as Chai flavored instant coffee, but does not contain any coffee.
Cappuccino Cafe Style

$5.00 for a4 oz or 8.4 oz tin 2022

Why do some coffee pots use orange to signify decaffeinated?

Because: SANKA!
Sanka was coffee lingo for decaf, when Sanka was popular from 1923 to the early 80’s. 

Maxwell House Sanka Instant Coffee – vintage cans of Sanka will have the Maxwell House logo,  and the ‘Good to the Last Drop’ art. Always with the signature orange color. This is the orange you will often see in restaurants to designate the coffee pot as decaf, but does not mean that the actual decaf coffee is Sanka. Other brands use the traditional green color to let you know the coffee is decaf. I have never seen a restaurant coffee pot with a green rim to indicate decaf. Vintage versions were sold as ground coffee ‘Naturally Decaffeinated’. New/current containers do not have the Maxwell House logo with the Sanka words, and are sold as instant coffee. The word Sanka used to be interchanged with decaf, similar to how ‘a tissue’ could also be called ‘a Kleenex’.

So, which blend of Maxwell House is your favorite? Did we miss any of the blends of Maxwell House? Do you also want to find Maxwell House Coffee Beans?
Let us know in the comments.