A good cuppa coffee doesn’t have to cost the earth

In addition to taste, I feel it’s important to buy only coffee that is ethically sourced. For me that means organic and Fairtrade even though I know that doesn’t always been a cheap cuppa. My favourites are (no particular order): Percol Rainforest Organic Colombia, Percol Fairtrade Organic Americano, Taylors of Harrogate Organic Fairtrade (medium roast), Cafe Direct Fairtrade Organic Machu Picchu Sainsbury’s “SO” Organic Peru

Although I do enjoy coffee I do not pretend to be an expert and a cup or preferably a mug of reasonably strong instant satisfies me. I would prefer it to be ethically produced but am not willing to pay a premium for it.

Coffee houses to me are more style over substance and the choices on offer reflect this. When out I like to find a Pret that sells a mug of filter coffee for a little over a pound and that only recently, previously 99p. No coffee for me is worth £3 and I will not pay more than £2 wherever, restaurant or cafe or worst still the mobile van at an event.

I will, following your test, be trying the Asda product.

I buy all my coffee from Has Bean (www.hasbean.co.uk) who are small independent coffee roasters near Stafford. They buy direct from the grower and support small growers who can’t afford to be in Fair Trade. They don’t over roast the beans (like some high street chains) and they sell about 60 different varieties which are freshly roasted when you order them. I’ve no connection with this business, other than being a very satisfied customer.

It’s all very well comparing things to find the best one but unless you’re grinding coffee yourself you’re already doing yourself a disservice. More surface area means going stale all the more quickly – sure the first cup of pre-ground stuff might taste ok but after that it’s going rapidly downhill. I’d recommend whole bean, and if you can, roasted in the previous 2-3 days. Grind what you need each time. Preparation method is a whole other business but do that at minimum. Good coffee should vividly taste like the description on the packet if it’s made properly, various fruits and toffees and chocolates etc., if you’re not getting that it’s worth the little extra time to source and make.

We’ve been enjoying a cup of ‘real’ coffee every morning for years. However, if you use ‘ready ground’ coffee you’re already using an inferior product, which tastes stale even from a newly opened packet. We agree with Bob; the best flavour is from freshly ground beans, using only what you need at any one time. Preparation takes less time than it takes the kettle to boil! Adding boiling water will spoil the flavour, so let the water cool a bit before adding to your coffee.
I think probably coffee is a bit of a luxury, but no more so than enojoying wine, and you can always source it cheaper online – try discountcoffee.co.uk. It starts at about £7.50 per kilo bag. We prefer to use Fairtrade coffee, which costs £9.89.per kilo, plus delivery. However, if you get together with some coffee-loving friends and family, you can buy 2 x 4 kg boxes, with no standard delivery charge. This works out at £8.21 per kilo, which is pretty good. The bags have a long ‘use by’ date and once opened I keep the bag in the freezer. (I disagree with the Which? tester here.) A 1kg bag lasts us about a month.

I use Cosco colombian beans and grind my own coffee-pretty easy.This blend gives a fabulous cup of coffee and is cheaper per kilo than any of the products that were tested in this recent article-accepting that these are beans not ground,and there is usually a small difference between gound and beans at RSP.By the way keeping coffee in the freezer keeps it fresh for longer.Coffee contains oils and fats which go stale(rancid) when exposed to air.Freezing slows this process right down.
Coffee should be drunk fresh.Not stood(as they do in the US) and kept warm-it goes rancid.Never drink it very hot ,allow the vapours to come off ,these smell good but don’t taste good if drunk immediatley.
I know a bit as I ran a large coffee processing plant a few years back.

I agree with Bill. Hasbean is great. I also like Sea Island Coffee – http://www.seaislandcoffee.com – it does an amazing rare coffees such as Jamaica Blue Mountain and Kopi Luwak coffees, which are very hard to find.

I agree with a couple of the other commenter’s above…

We have bought stuff online from:
1. hasbean – always ULTRAfresh and just lovely
2. squaremile coffee is also very good and fresh.
3. nextdaycoffee.co.uk who have a good range at great prices….

I now tend to buy mostly from nextdaycoffee.co.uk as I have started buying syrups from them (oh yes shock and horror…. don’t worry they are for cake making, not coffee).

We have a local independent store nearby that roasts in house….. always very good coffee from them, and the staff can tell you lots about where the coffee comes from if interested.

@Robin – I saw seaislandcoffee people in a coffee exhibition in London earlier this year – very expensive…. but some lovely coffee on sale 🙂

The various comments about the better taste of freshly ground beans are, of course, right. The other advantage of grinding your own is that you can get the grind right for your particular coffee maker. Although most of these coffees are sold as suitable for all coffee makers most are too coarse a grind for mocha pots or espresso machines and subsequently produce a weak and watery cup. The testing of the coffee brands did not show the difference that a different grind can make to the flavour when used in different makers.

I use a bean to cup machine that grinds the beans fresh, although I am not convinced it is any better than pre ground coffee, it is a lot less mess and cleaning than a filter or expresso machine. I am currently using Costco Columbian beans but find them slightly bitter and I use a weak brew setting. I normally limit my coffee to two cups a day before midday. The beans and pre-ground I consider the best are Sainsburys Premium blend £2.50 for 227 gms, occasionaly they are at special offer at 1/3 off.

Nespresso machines give very good results but the cost per cup is about double at 25-30p.

Years ago when ground coffee became more popular through the supermarkets the boiling water point was one of the first I learnt—so glad it has been picked up. I have just had a mug of Guatamala Cloud Forests, purchased before I saw the report, for a much cheaper price than £3.59.(£2.40 I think). This is because I keep my eyes open for bargain offers, which can be on most coffees even some pricier ones. I don’t restrict myself to a favourite, and so can experiment as well as achieve a saving. Waitrose had an excellent offer recently, I think two bags for £5 or £4.50, which needed keen observation to see and a quick exit from the shop before my purchase achieved ‘loss-leader’ status.

I am glad that Which has produced a good article about ground coffee. While I agree that the grind of the coffee and how fresh it is can make a difference to the overall taste it is of course impossible to test all independent suppliers of coffee. I am however not suprised to see that the likes of Starbucks are overpriced and of average qaulity. I will be trying ASDA’s house blend in my filter coffee maker and look forward to trying the results.

I went to ASDA today and found that they now sell an unground version of their Asda Extra Special Fairtrade Colombian Roast. I do not grind my own coffee but I would be interested to see how it compares with its ground equivilant.

I am not a ‘coffee buff’ but I do enjoy one a couple of times a day. My morning coffee is usually ‘out’ either at Pret a Manger (sometimes a bit weak) or a local gallery which, in common with a number of local establishments, use ‘Illy’ coffee -quite pleasant. At home I use Lyons which is CHEAP, 99p for a 175gm bag and OK for everyday use. I have a Dualit espressivo machine, which although a bit fiddly to use does make good coffee, and is excellent at frothing milk

Too much strong coffee must make your eyes hyper-sensitive … Or you’re posting on the wrong site!!!

I have been drinking Asda’s Fairtrade Colombian coffee for a good few years now and I love it so was really pleased to see it got Best Buy. I don’t have a fancy coffee machine, just a cafetiere that I use to brew my 2 cups every morning. I keep mine in a plastic tupperware box in the door of my fridge. Just wish Asda still did the Vanilla Syrup they used to do. A small dash of that added and I’m in heaven!!

I’m not a coffee buff but enjoy columbioan coffee from M&S. On the packet it says keep in the fridge after opening. The article in Which-October says ‘not necessary to keep in the fridge’. Is this food labelling overdoing it again?

Stuart

For many years I used various electric espresso coffee machines, including a lovely lever operated La Pavoni, and ground premium beans in a hand operated Zassenhaus mill. Frothing milk with steam from the machines was always a bit hit and miss.

Now I’ve gone back to basics with Lidl Bellarom ground Arabica coffee, a simple Aerobie Aeropress coffee maker and a Bodum Latteo milk frother. Coffee still tastes good and froth for cappuccino comes up like whipped cream. All much simpler with the only down side being the thin crema on espresso.

Hi ,
I love rombouts original blend one cup filters ,can anybody reccomend one that tastes as good as this ,thanks .

I enjoy a large cup of strong coffee with a little milk and, as we shop at M&S, buy their various ground coffees like Peruvian and Honduras – usually strength 4 and 5 – and brew in a cafetiere. It’s so quick and little trouble and always produces a decent cup of coffee. Clearly I don’t get all the hissing and bubbling effects. I’m a bit of a scrooge and resent paying £2.50 a cup when I can make it for 25p a 1/2 pint with cheap equipment.