There was a TV show a few years back called round the world in 80 trades, on one leg the guy bought some coffee beans from a farm and tried to sell them. At the big coffee buyers they roasted it and made 100 cups with it to check it's taste, consistency, etc etc and had a whole lab analysing it. Before rejecting it for having a whole host of off flavours and inconsistencies despite the star being prepared to accept a low price as they would have bought his whole stock.He then went to someone who sounds a lot like you describe (a little 1 man artisan coffee roaster/shop) who paid far more for it having done far less QC.
The analysis by the big corporation is not necessarily superior to that of the small roaster. At the end of the day, the only analysis that counts is tasting (specifically the process of 'cupping') and a very skilled roaster may have a better ability to identify potential in a tasting session than his equivalents employed by a large corporate, and he may be able to exploit that potential better when roasting, both by virtue of his skill as a roaster and also because his market/customers may appreciate his product in a way that the big corporate's will not.
Here's another real life example for you. A major food manufacturer which produced both premium products under its own brand as well as supplying product to the supermarkets for packaging under their own brands, had a surplus of its premium product. Rather than packaging it under its own premium brand, they offered it to Tesco for the same price that they would charge Tesco for the product that Tesco usually bought from them to sell as Tesco own brand. Tesco declined the offer because the premium product was [i]too good[/i] for its own brand, i.e. its customers were not used to that quality/taste profile, which Tesco did not want to depart from (and possibly did not want its customers to develop a liking for the better product).
Historically coffee blends in Italy have contained a percentage of robusta beans, because they are cheaper. The roasters and baristas get the best out of those blends, and consequently Italians who have grown up accustomed to the taste profile of those robusta blends, are less likely to want/prefer the more expensive beans and blends.
The availability of different types and qualities of food and drink is generally a very good thing. If products like chorleywood process bread or farmed fish were not available, then the prices of 'artisan' bread or wild fish would probably be a lot higher.
Only a limited percentage of the coffee grown is suitable for the 'specialty' coffee market, and if people who currently drink/prefer instant decided they no longer liked that and started to buy 'specialty' coffee instead, the price of it would go up due to the limited available supply.
Happy Donkey beans are awful.
Ouesburn are good.
Lidl do great beans, when they have them.
Coop have gone down hill.
HasBean do a set of 5 bags of different, similar beans, that is a touch more affordable (but still pricey).
Pact are good if you're forgetful, very handy to have them popping through the door, expensive though.
Tesco? No idea. Don't care.
North Star are top drawer, but expensive mail order.
Grumpy Mule are hit and miss.
Union are touchy freely, but nothing special at all.
Darkwoods are good if you stick with their darker beans. Too expensive mail order.
Catering bags (1kg) of Lavazza crema can be as little as £10, and utterly fool proof to grind and use. Start there.
There was a TV show a few years back called round the world in 80 trades, on one leg the guy bought some coffee beans from a farm and tried to sell them. At the big coffee buyers they roasted it and made 100 cups with it to check it's taste, consistency, etc etc and had a whole lab analysing it. Before rejecting it for having a whole host of off flavours and inconsistencies despite the star being prepared to accept a low price as they would have bought his whole stock.He then went to someone who sounds a lot like you describe (a little 1 man artisan coffee roaster/shop) who paid far more for it having done far less QC.
i remember the program, it was in south africa. just because he was a one man outfit doesn't mean he was a good cupper/grader, it could be that he couldn’t buy small amounts at the prices the big boys pay and liked the coffee and thought he could bulk out a blend with it to make more profit. it probably wasn’t anything special.
that said i have bought plenty of mediocre coffee that is supposed to be good and at the £20/kg+ price bracket, never bought amazing coffee from a supermarket though only ‘decent value’ from the likes of Modern standard* in sainsbury’s when i have run out of my favourites and need something to tide me over before buying more beans.
*run by an ex Mercanta (green bean importer) copper/grader who knows her stuff, however the sainsbury’s lines are all about hitting a price point, the best stuff is sold to cafes/direct sales but isn’t £4:50 a bag
For me the difference in quality, is not the significant factor.
The date of roasting is far more important, I would happily buy supermarket beans if they labeled when the beans were roasted (and it was within the last 3 weeks).
Fortunately I have http://www.northern-tea.com/coffee/ on my doorstep and they are pretty good.
Tesco Finest Colombian or Lavazza red for bulk kilo bags. Pact for regular nice supplies. Pact is in the machine at the moment. Once it's gone then it's back to the bulk beans.
It's a bean to cup machine, so I just keep pouring them in, rather than small batch production.
I use this lot very reasonable and great quality roast date on bag usually a couple of days before delivery
https://www.grindhousecoffee.co.uk
Rave coffee is pretty well priced, from about £12 a kilo for the blends and about £15 for single estate. Think they charge £3.50 for delivery but it's free if you spend £25. I don't go through 2kg a month so prefer to get fresher beans and pay for delivery.
Poncy coffee is a bit hit and miss when you've got so many roasters. No harm in casting about a bit to find what you like, including supermarket beans. Union stuff from Waitrose has a roast date on. I've never been in Tesco.
We clear out a shelf in Sainsburys or M&S when on sale...
Lavazza espresso is very good. As is ouseburn stuff.
Sacked Has Bean off ages ago, too dear.
Using big bags of Italian beans from Lidl but now on Lavassa Espresso again.
Found these near me though (local roaster), going to pop in next week and blag a few samples hopefully.
[url= http://www.tankcoffee.com/ ]Tank Coffee[/url]
Nowt in Lidl this weekend. Got a couple of Sainsbury's bags and a bag od Lavazza Rosso instead.
I'll just have to make the effort with James Gourmet whenever I'm in Ross.
Reading the debate has been excellent though, as have some people's assumptions that I don't know what I like/ dislike. Bravo!
After ordering a new sage espresso machine i've decided to try the Dark Woods Coffee - under milk wood beans, not that expensive at £20 kg either compared to my usual Brodies - Mt Etna blend.
My local send me 500g of beans every fortnight. Just had some lush Colombian arrive today.
Delivery to UK might be a bit much though... But fellow Perthies who like coffee might already know Yahava?
www.yahava.com.au
I'll just have to make the effort with James Gourmet whenever I'm in Ross
The fella who runs it - Peter I think - is a fab bloke. Properly enthusiastic and knowledgable. I just get a 250gr bag or two week as it's 10 mins from the house and so might as well have it fresh. I ask for whatever they roasted last. And if I really like one, I'll ask for it again. Their Winter Hoard is fab.
It's good to support a local business. I don't know much about coffee other than James' beans in my Delonghi bean to cup machine makes better coffee than most places I can buy it. And it's supporting a local business. And they gave us a Labrador puppy*
* this is not a customer offer.. and a very long story 😉
I buy a few bags at a time from Whittard to get the free delivery and it's always good enough for me.
To answer 5he topic title -
To remain hipster, then yes...if you wish to drink coffee, there are plenty of alternatives that cost less but you may have to do more than click 'buy now'.
It does expensive but I've no idea of coffee prices as I don't drink the stuff.
Not really sure if I can add anything here. There are loads of great small batch producers who make gorgeous stuff but if your priorities lie elsewhere or you don't have the kit to make the best of it then don't bother.
As has been said, I've never had an amazing cup from a supermarket but I love coffee and I know I'm an edge case so the supermarkets won't make products for me.
Supermarkets are getting better, I found a bag in Sainsb's (I think) where they even had a roasting date. Still not awesome but better than a couple of years ago.
Good luck!
BTW, if you get Whittard's ones online (as opposed to buying in a shop where a less popular bean may have been sat for a while in the big hoppers) then they are always very fresh as the turnover is very high.
Bourbon Espresso and Guatemalan Elephant are the two I particularly like – enough weight behind them without being overpowering for cappuccinos.
John, Gaggia Classic
Your contribution is welcome.I've no idea of coffee prices as I don't drink the stuff.
It should be as I've no connection therefore see it in the cold light of day.
How many cups of coffee can you get from a 1kg bag?
Just trying to get an idea of how much a cup of coffee made from beans costs, when people are talking of £12/20 per kg.
If you can get 10 cups, then it's quite pricey (IMO). If you can get 50 cups, then it's pretty good value!
1000g / 15* = 66.666666666...
(*and that's a lot of coffee, you'll be able to travel through space and time after a couple of those)
Cool, cheers ahwiles - so around 15g per cup.
So, even £20/kg isn't exactly expensive on a per cup basis.
Price shouldn't come into it. My business partner happily spends silly money on his beans but seems more concerned with how good his latte art is. I couldn't give a damn about what my coffee looks like, I just want it to taste nice. And if that means £1.99 Aldi beans then so what?
No, you're right, cost is just a nuisance and should in no way inform or influence anything that anyone buys, ever. Sheesh. Or did I misread that? As has been mentioned by multiple posters supermarket coffee is hit and miss when it comes to quality, and IME most of it is over-roasted (to my taste) or old.
And yes, hipster to the end Dick, that's me. No interest in the flavor at all, just what looks cool in my instagram posts.
I perhaps should have mentioned that a) I'm tight and b) I'm not in the habit of drinking much coffee at home during the week so this is generally a weekend indulgence and the Catholic guilt I feel for spending £7 a bag/ 42p a cup isn't worth the tightening of my Cilice.
Lavazza rossa was on offer last week at 3 quid a 250g bag, its ok but more important is how youmake your coffee. Best coffee burnt is bitter.
It must be me because I dont like Lavazza at all. Living close to Taylors and having a friend that gets me all the coffee I could wish for from Taylors, even plain bagged beans I still like the Aldi beans.
Recently got some good beans from Homesense,(with a recent brew date) but might try some more North Star only the stronger type as the last lot was a bit weak.
Nothing hipster about it really, but if you are complaining about cost then you need to adjust your means of selecting your beans or how they are brewed so the cost comes down...
You said hipster Dick, not me. The original question was is it cheaper anywhere that I might have overlooked, and the general consensus is "not really".
Don't know why you're so interested if you don't drink coffee. Are you starting a coffee shop?
Not at all, but this is posted in an open forum so I joined in...sorry.
I'd go with the James' stuff, not so local for me, but chuffed when I find cafes or restaurants around here that use it. Always happy with the outcome.
Once picked up some cheapest of the cheap from Asda, initial smell in the bag was almost ash tray like, however, made a really nice coffee. Unfortunately, never to be found again.
Asda is from Taylors along with M&s, Booths + many others.
