Eight O’Clock Coffee began as a supermarket chain brand coffee that has evolved into a national brand. Eight O’Clock Coffee was the store brand for the A&P supermarket chain
Back in 1859 A&P (The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company) supermarket chain opened its first store. Coffee was among the signature products of the supermarket chain. In 1919, A&P introduced the famous "Eight O'Clock Coffee" trademark. It is said that the company arrived at the name after conducting a survey as to what time of day most coffee was consumed; the most popular time was Eight O'Clock - both a.m. and p.m.
The coffee business in the United States was primarily whole bean during the 1920s and 1930s, and Eight O'Clock Coffee was the best-selling coffee in the world. In the early 1930s, with distribution limited to the East Coast and parts of the Mid-West, Eight O'Clock coffee enjoyed a 25% share of the national coffee business.
National expansion began in 1979. Compass Foods (a subsidiary of A&P), began selling Eight O’Clock Coffee to other leading retailers, and this expansion has continued until today. Eight O’Clock Coffee now is offered in roughly 65% of all grocery stores, and the majority of its sales occur in retailers beyond A&P. Eight O' Clock Coffee remains America's best selling whole bean coffee, and is the 3rd-largest national brand in terms of volume.
Eight O'Clock Coffee introduced in July 2003 a line of ground coffees to deliver the signature Eight O'Clock Coffee whole bean taste and freshness with pre-ground convenience. Eight O’Clock ground coffees offer the same premium coffee beans and high roasting standards as whole bean coffees.
All Eight O’Clock coffees are made from fresh, high quality, 100% Arabica coffee beans. These high quality beans are roasted in their roasting facility in Landover, MD, where they continue Eight O'Clock Coffee’s fine tradition of roasting.
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