10 Best Coffee Beans In The UK 2024: Honest Reviews

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Coffee is the favourite drink of many people and is extremely popular around the world, regardless of areas and nations. Moreover, it brings the style and culture of each country through the way it’s processed and enjoyed.

Some people like to process coffee by themselves, while others prefer to enjoy coffee at the coffee shops. Both methods are great; however, in this COVID 19 period, it would be better to buy coffee beans and make it at home.

Because there are many products on the market that can make you confused, this article will provide you with information about the top 10 best coffee beans in the UK to consider and choose straightforwardly If you’re ready, let’s start!

What Is Coffee Beans?

Surely none of us have never heard of the word “Coffee”, and most of us have drunk it. However, that doesn’t mean that anyone knows the origin of the coffee and how it is made.

The savory bitter-sweet liquid we take in our body first thing in the morning does not come from the particle form of coffee only, not its real shape. The parts of the coffee tree from which we get this particle are the beans – the nuts inside the fruit of the coffee plant to be exact. The pulp is inedible, so people mainly exploit the beans to make coffee.

After harvesting, methods such as drying or “washed” (soak the coffee berries in water to ferment them and then separate the pulp) will be used to collect beans.

How To Choose The Best Coffee Beans?

For those who aren’t connoisseurs or don’t have too much experience with coffee, choosing a good or suitable coffee bean isn’t an easy task.

Since on the market, there are many types of coffee beans from different brands, and of course, they will be of varying quality. There are even fake, low-quality coffees that you need to be careful about to avoid buying.

Below are some tips for choosing the most suitable for coffee beans for you.

You Prefer Robusta Or Arabica?

Robusta and Arabica are two commercial coffee beans sold all around the world. Because of the origin, geographic zone, and growing conditions, these two coffees bear significantly different tastes that are easy to distinguish even if you aren’t an expert.

Regarding Robusta, it features a strong, bitter, and a little bit harsh flavour. Many people think that it’s less subtle than Arabica, but each has its special values.

The caffeine content in the Robusta bean is much higher than that of Arabica. For that reason, it’s often used to blend with different types, especially to make Espresso as it produces more crema.

On the other hand, if you prefer a smoother, more aromatic and sweet coffee flavour, then Arabica is a great suggestion. Many people love the delicate taste of the Arabica beans and the mildly sour aftertaste of each coffee sip.

Also, this type is more suitable for people who are prone to getting torrefied after drinking coffee as the caffeine content of Arabica is not as extreme as Robusta.

If you compare Arabica as a melodious, gentle and deep concert, then Robusta is like a vibrant and passionate rock. Get a clearer picture of the gap between them?

Blend Or Original Coffee Bean Is Your Taste?

Would you prefer a cup of origin coffee or blend to create other drinks? Your preference determines the type of coffee and caffeine concentration. Most people like drinks combined from different kinds of beans to get a richer and more balanced flavour.

Roasting Degree

Fresh coffee beans are high in liquid content and not as fragrant and strong as the taste of coffee that we often drink. And that is the reason behind the birth of the roasting technique. There are many ways to classify, but people usually classify based on the colour of the roasted beans.

The roasting of coffee comes in four level: Light roast, Medium roast, Medium-dark roast and Dark roast.

Light roast: The characteristics of Light roast coffee beans is the caffeine content very high. These beans contain the distinct original flavours, aromatic and sour. Moreover, light-roasted beans won’t have an oily layer covering them.

Medium roast: This type will have a slightly darker colour than the Light roast method. Besides, the caffeine content and acidity are also reduced to become more balanced. And similar to the above way, there will be no oil scum in the beans.

Medium-dark roast: You should see a little oil on the beans, they will have a darker colour, lower caffeine content and a stronger aroma. And the taste might be a bit bitter.

Dark roast: These beans have the darkest colour, similar to chocolate and even on the verge of turning black. Its taste is very strong, bitter and fragrant and there exists a slight smoky flavor. The caffeine content and the original taste of the coffee are also not much if the beans are processed with Dark roast method.

Overall, on your taste, you can choose the roasting level that you think suits you best.

Check The Roasting Date

According to many connoisseurs, you should have coffee beans with roast dates as new as possible. Normally, coffee will taste its best about 7 to 14 days after roasting. Certainly, you can use them for longer periods, but the good taste will decrease over time.

Best Coffee Beans Reviews UK 2024

Based on many standards such as quality, price and user feedback, we have selected the top 10 best coffee beans UK. Keep reading to know what they are!

1. Lavazza Qualita Rossa Coffee Beans – Best Coffee Beans For Bean To Cup Machine

Lavazza Qualita Rossa is a great candidate if you are looking for a coffee that is best suited for a cup machine!

In terms of first impression, the coffee bean in this product is a combination of Robusta and Arabica, which makes it have a subtle aroma of chocolate and dried fruit.

Besides, it has a moderately strong flavour and moderate strength of 5/10. Hence, anyone can try it whether you aren’t a coffee connoisseur or just a beginner.

Because of the Arabica composition, its aftertaste will be a bit sour and carries the characteristic aroma of Robusta. When processed, it will bring you fully crema Espresso or fragrant Cappuccino cups.

Moreover, the coffee beans of Lavazza Qualita Rossa aren’t too hard, when ground, they will be relatively soft and smooth. So there is no need to worry about if it challenges coffee machines because of hardness or grinding time.

However, packaging quality is a defect of this product as isn’t really good enough to protect the beans from humid air. So it’s better to keep the unused coffee in a sealed container.

Pros

  • Suitable for cup machine
  • Combination of Arabica and Robusta
  • Average strength, ideal for everyone

Cons

  • Need to store the unused coffee in other containers

2. Lavazza Super Crema Coffee Beans – Best For Beginners

Being one of the best coffee beans on Amazon UK, Lavazza Super Crema is always nominated for newcomers to enjoy coffee.

The taste isn’t too strong or too intense, making this coffee easy to drink. It doesn’t contain too much caffeine either, which makes you torrefy or feel uncomfortable with a sip.

Moreover, all the flavours are balanced and blended, mild bitterness and moderate acidity mingle with a subtle chocolate flavour, more than enough to give you an energy dose and start your day more refreshed than ever!

One thing some of us may not know is that this coffee is produced to make Espresso. So if you don’t know what to drink, start with a cup of Espresso with fluffed crema first – this always turns out quite all right for everyone, even those new to the coffee world!

Overall, one downside that the manufacturer needs to improve is that the packaging of this product looks a bit fragile, and it’s easy to tear if rubbed or cut by a sharp object.

Pros

  • Light and not strong taste
  • Good for beginner
  • It can make the best Espresso

Cons

  • Fragile packaging

3. STARBUCKS Espresso Dark Roast Coffee – Best Coffee Beans For Espresso UK

If you want a wonderful and delicious Espresso to make your day, don’t skip this coffee bean, you’ll regret it!

Undoubtedly, STARBUCKS is a well-known coffee brand all over the world and this fact as a recognition for their coffee quality. So, this product is always one of the best coffee beans in the UK.

Hence, his product is the most suitable candidate for you to create fragrant cups of Espresso and the outcome that you will have when processing this coffee beans is a rich and smooth coffee with thick and floating crema.

Besides, this product is packaged in a 200g per pack – the perfect amount for one or two cups. And so you can finish it before the bacteria outside can lay their fingers on it. Undoubtedly, this will help you preserve your unused coffee in a better way.

Overall, this product is worth trying. But watch out as it is a bit oily, which makes the user feel relatively uncomfortable.

Pros

  • Suitable for making Espresso
  • Rich and caramelly notes
  • Packed in small amount per pack

Cons

  • A little bit oily

4. Spiller & Tait Signature Blend Coffee Beans – Best Blend Coffee Beans

Blend coffee beans is a great suggestion if you have already grown bored of filling your mouth with one single taste over and over and want to make some changes in your coffee habit.

Spiller & Tait Signature is considered one of the most worth is trying coffee blends because it will bring you greatness with different flavours.

The composition of this product includes five types of Arabica from Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, India and Ethiopia so that the beans will have irregular shapes and different degrees of roasting. And this creates a balanced, rich and smoky taste – one sip and your sleepiness in the early morning will be gone in a flash.

Besides, it has an intensity of about 3/5 – a bit above average but not too much caffeine, so it’s suitable for all people, and you can use it all the time a day.

And take note that when grinding these beans, you should grind them for a longer time and more carefully as they are stiffer than the other types.

Pros

  • Blend coffee beans
  • Average intensity
  • Suitable for everyone

Cons

  • Need grinding carefully

5. Taylors Of Harrogate Rich Italian Coffee Beans – Best Of Packaging

Many manufacturers often pack coffee beans into bags of large weight such as 500g or 1kg, which is quite inconvenient to preserve unused beans. However, this issue has been resolved by the Taylors of Harrogate Rich Italian!

With a weight of 227g per bag, you can easily use up your coffee within 3-4 days even faster after opening the bag, which helps to keep the aroma and rich flavour of coffee.

In terms of flavour, it’s a combination between the sophistication of Italiano coffee and the style of British coffee. Having ingredients 100% Arabica, it lets you savor the smooth drink, rich with aromas of dark chocolate and almond.

Also, according to the manufacturer’s suggestion, you can store these coffee bags in the freezer for a maximum of 3 weeks.

Overall, this product is good quality and worth a try, but it has the disadvantage that the coffee beans are not of uniform sizes.

Pros

  • Best packaging
  • Smooth and rich taste
  • Can be reserved in freezer

Cons

  • The beans are not uniform

6. Solimo Coffee Beans – Best For Budget

The price of these best coffee beans to buy UK is so low that it will surprise you. Many people assume that “the cheapest is the dearest”; however, that doesn’t apply to this type of coffee beans.

Solimo coffee is roasted, and packaged coffee in Germany by UTZ certified farmers so you can be completely assured of the production process.

About the ingredient, with 100% Arabica beans, this product will have a smooth taste, mild bitterness and a distinct hint of sour. At such a price, it won’t be able to blow your mind, but the familiar and original taste is quite enough to give you utter satisfaction.

However, if what you are looking for is the beans to make Espresso, then this product isn’t suitable as it has 100% Arabica ingredients, the outcome won’t be as thick and strong as you would like.

Pros

  • Bargain price
  • 100% Arabica
  • Easy to buy online

Cons

  • Not suitable for making Espresso

7. Note D’Espresso Arabica Coffee Beans – Best Values For Price

Although being sold for a relatively low price, the Note D’Espresso Arabica gives you more value than saving money only.

This is an Italiano with 100% Arabica seeds. So you will feel a rich, strong, slightly sour flavour with smoky smell. That is the familiar characteristic of Arabica beans that you always want every morning!

Its strength is about 4-5/10, which is not too light but not too strong to make you uncomfortable. And in addition to making Espresso cups with fluffy cream, you can also use this product to create others such as Cappuccino, Latte and so on.

Moreover, it is sold in a set of 2kg (2 bags) at a price that can’t be cheaper. This price will surely make you satisfied!

Packaging of this product is what dissatisfies users because large packaging 1kg per bag will make it more difficult to preserve the coffee beans.

Pros

  • Rich and average strength
  • Suitable for making Espresso
  • Attractive price

Cons

  • The large weight of each bag makes it difficult to store

8. Death Wish Valhalla Java Coffee – Best For Strong Taste

If you prefer cups of coffee which have a strong and thick taste, Death Wish Valhalla Java is one of the best coffee beans on amazon UK for you!

When looking at the packaging of this product, the slogan “Fresh to death” will make you feel somewhat “crazy” in its flavour. And indeed, its taste will surely surprise you!

And, when you open the bag, the strong aroma of the dark roasted coffee beans will spread throughout and fill your room. Then, taste layers from strong to bitter and to end with a moderate acidity will make you addicted to it.

Further, should you be a busy bee and overtime shifts have become a norm to you, the high caffeine content will be a great assistant to help you stay awake and complete your late-night work.

In general, compared with the majority of products on the market, the Java Death Wish Valhalla has a relatively higher price tag. However, you’ll get what you pay for!

Pros

  • Strong and thick taste
  • Medium acidity
  • High caffeine content

Cons

  • A little bit pricey

9. Arabica Whole Beans – Best Organic Coffee Beans

Nowadays, people are increasingly favouring organic foods to minimize residues of pesticides and chemicals in food, protect health and prevent environmental pollution. Therefore, Arabic Whole Beans is considered as one of the best organic coffee beans.

According to information from the manufacturer, these coffee beans are grown and cared for using organic products, completely eco-friendly and not harmful to the health of users.

Also, all four types of coffee in this set are 100% pure Arabica with Fernando from Colombia (4/7 intensity), Frida from Mexico (3/7 power), Gilberto from Brazil (6/7 intensity) and Simon is the blending from the three above (5/7 intensity).

Moreover, Latin American Coffee Box can also be the solution for you if you’re looking for a meaningful gift or want to experience new coffee with friends.

However, the paper packaging of this coffee is a very absorbent material, so when storing, pay attention to avoid putting them in humid places and direct sunlight.

Pros

  • Includes four types of coffee beans
  • Being various in intensity
  • Can be a gift set

Cons

  • Easy-to-absorb packaging

10. New Coffee Beans Gift Set – Best Of Diversity

You’re not a coffee connoisseur or even don’t know what kind of coffee you should start with? New coffee beans gift sets from Scott&Co will be a great support for you to start your journey!

This gift set has a total of 10 coffee bags which each contains 60g coffee beans. Specifically, it includes Mocha, Monsoon Malabar, Kenya AA, Mahogany Fairtrade, Old Brown Java, Espresso Milano, Colombian Excelso, Sumatra Mandheling, Costa Rican and Brazil Santos from countries such as Kenya, Indonesia, India and so on.

If you are never into sticking with one thing in the long run, go with this one is the wisest choice!

Also, another great thing you’ll get from this product is that you can try a little of each type before deciding which one you like. We know that each type of coffee will have different flavours and suit each person’s taste, so try all ten types to get the most true feeling.

In terms of packaging, coffee is packaged and sealed in small paper bags, and this packaging paper material is easy to get wet. So you need to pay more attention to preserve the coffee beans in the right way.

Pros

  • Includes ten types of coffee beans
  • Suitable for everyone
  • Can be given as a gift

Cons

  • The paper packaging is easy to get wet

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Store Coffee Beans?

Usually, when you buy coffee beans, they are packaged in paper bags, silver paper bags or plastic bags. Storing coffee beans in these is also quite good, but that’s when you haven’t opened them or just kept them for a short time.

When coffee is exposed to humid outside air, it can easily spoil and go rancid. It’s therefore not a good idea to store them in the bags they were packaged.

Keep your coffee beans in plastic or glass containers with covers. Place these containers in a cool place where they avoid direct sunlight, and high temperatures since the impacts from the external environment can affect the quality and taste of them.

Ground Or Roasted Coffee Is The Better?

Most people generally choose roasted coffee beans because of its convenience. It would be best if you put into the instant blender, and then you’ll have a cup of coffee as desired.

However, as mentioned above, this type has the downside that it will lose its flavour after roasting, so you need to use them up as soon as possible to enjoy the taste fully.

Ground beans have the advantage of preserving flavour for longer provided you store them properly: away from moisture, sunlight and so on.

However, if you don’t have any coffee roasting machine at home, this isn’t a great option. Because have you ever thought of how you can roast them?

The choice of ground beans or roasted beans is flexible, which depends on how often you drink the coffee and the necessary devices you have.

What Are The Best Coffee Beans For Making Espresso?

The prerequisite for a delicious Espresso is that the coffee beans must be fresh, and when brewed, the crema layer must be created on the surface. From the list of the top 10 best coffee beans, Lavazza Super Crema and STARBUCKS Espresso Dark Roast are two best coffee beans for espresso UK that will satisfy you!

Conclusion

Overall, we have revealed to you the top 10 best coffee beans UK, and we hope that it’s really helpful to you! To sum up, pay attention to good ingredients such as coffee type, roasting degree, roasting date and so on when searching for a coffee that’s right for you.

And we would like to nominate STARBUCKS Espresso Dark Roast as the best product when the quality of the beans is high with sturdy packaging and affordable price.

Have you picked up the best one for yourself?

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