Best coffee for ~$10 / lb?

[CFM300]

Because no one has mentioned it yet, I'll add that Whole Foods has a variety of roasts that can be had for less than $10 per pound if you buy 24-ounce bags. Some of the roasts are organic and fair-trade certified as well.

[ClevrChico]

I've gone from being a coffee snob grinding fancy beans to buying a big tub of Folgers. ($7.40/pound here.) Made fresh, it's pretty decent, unlike the stale office Folgers we used to have.

[JakeyLee]

I've gone from being a coffee snob grinding fancy beans to buying a big tub of Folgers. ($7.40/pound here.) Made fresh, it's pretty decent, unlike the stale office Folgers we used to have.

I do a lot of off grid camping. A kettle of hot water and Folgers in a French press is one of life’s simple pleasures. Agreed that it has increased in quality in the last decade. I thought it was just me

[MH2]

Anyone who wants to get serious about coffee should consider buying a used Behmor or Gene Cafe roaster.

$6 a pound (12€ per kg) and twenty minutes a week gives you coffee better than 80-90% of boutique roasts. Much better than anything you can find at a normal retailer.

[sid hartha]

Because no one has mentioned it yet, I'll add that Whole Foods has a variety of roasts that can be had for less than $10 per pound if you buy 24-ounce bags. Some of the roasts are organic and fair-trade certified as well.

Is that the Allegro Brand? I was wondering if they were any good. They had a light roast Colombian.

[Frugal Al]

I really like the Mother Earth Organic Medium Roast Coffee 2 lb, 2-pack from Costco online. Very consistent roast and usually ships fairly promptly.

[Nicolas]

Anyone who wants to get serious about coffee should consider buying a used Behmor or Gene Cafe roaster.

$6 a pound (12€ per kg) and twenty minutes a week gives you coffee better than 80-90% of boutique roasts. Much better than anything you can find at a normal retailer.

+1, I’ve been home-roasting for twenty years. For the first nineteen years I used popcorn poppers but when my last one failed in June my wife talked me into a Behmor. And I’m glad she did, it works great. I’ll never go back to store-bought coffee.

[WS1]

Seek out a local roaster and try out what they have. We have several in our town who do a good job and are priced in the $9 to $12/pound range.

[GG1273]

Give Seattles Best a try if it’s available in your area. It’s a few dollars cheaper than Peet’s and to me it tastes better.

Discovered this coffee a few years ago while vacationing in Washington state. All the hotels and lodges we stayed at provided this (local to there) brand in the rooms and we were pleasantly surprised at how tasty and inexpensive it was.

+1 for Seattle's Best - the store in my area stopped carrying it a couple of years ago (maybe due to supply issues?) but I liked it too and we're in NJ
Moved over to Tim Horton's Dark which I like.
Wegman's (east coast) has some of their own that you can grind if you desire. Their proprietary stuff is pretty good overall

[yatesd]

I have an espresso machine so only use coffee that is roasted the same day it is shipped. Coffee prices have gone up recently, but I can get 5lb’s for about $62 or so with a coupon. I freeze what I don’t use and grind on demand.

https://northboundcoffee.com/

[wunder]

This is an excellent review from James Hoffmann - The Best USA Grocery Store Coffee

Probably can't find a better, more comprehensive, dryer wit review.

I would second this. To save people time that don't want to watch the full shootout, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, McDonalds, and Starbucks (Veranda, not Pike Place), all did surprisingly well.

I'll also add Aldi. At least my local store has whole bean fair trade single country 100% Arabica options. I'm partial to the Peruvian but they also have Honduras, Mexico, and a few others. Pricing is up a bit from 2020 but still only $6-7 for a 12 oz bag so meets your budget.

[joe8d]

Maxwell House.

[Pdxnative]

Trader Joe’s is hands down the best value in decent to good coffee IMO. I prefer dark roast but their medium roasts are good too. I agree Costco 5 lb bags are good if you want whole bean.

[LongTall]

If you like your $16/lb coffee then keep it! I don’t recommend cutting down on life’s simple pleasures, unless the cost is a hardship, but then you have bigger problems to solve.

[Chrono Triggered]

I just brewed a new batch of Ethiopian light roast beans. Very fruity coffee. I ordered the 2lb bag and with shipping it was $14/lb.

https://happymugcoffee.com/collections/ ... 8903176479

+1 for Happy Mug. I used to order from Counter Culture for the longest time, but I love the prices and quality I've been getting from Happy Mug.

[CFM300]

Whole Foods has a variety of roasts that can be had for less than $10 per pound if you buy 24-ounce bags. Some of the roasts are organic and fair-trade certified as well.

Is that the Allegro Brand? I was wondering if they were any good. They had a light roast Colombian.

I'm not sure about Allegro. I was referring to their "365" house brand.

Here, for example, is an organic, fair-trade dark roast for $11.24 for 24 ounces, which is $7.52 per pound.

365 Organic Vienna Roast


They have a variety of roasts at that price.

[Globetrttr]

Ground:
Kirkland Signature Medium Roast Coffee, 40 oz. for $18 (bagged)
I only buy this when we have guests in town or otherwise need to make several pots a day. It's fresh Arabica and not bad.

Also, Gevalia Columbian is good. A little smoother and finer grind.

Whole Bean:
Any of the ADLI single-origin organics (Nicaragua, Peru are favorites) in whole bean form. Usually ~$6.50/12oz bag but used to be $3.50 for most of COVID times until they stopped taking a loss on it. Always fresh and great aroma when ground.

[sid hartha]

Whole Foods has a variety of roasts that can be had for less than $10 per pound if you buy 24-ounce bags. Some of the roasts are organic and fair-trade certified as well.

Is that the Allegro Brand? I was wondering if they were any good. They had a light roast Colombian.

I'm not sure about Allegro. I was referring to their "365" house brand.

Here, for example, is an organic, fair-trade dark roast for $11.24 for 24 ounces, which is $7.52 per pound.

365 Organic Vienna Roast


They have a variety of roasts at that price.

Thank you! I'm going to pay more attention next time I go.

[TheGreyingDuke]

I roast my own coffee! Tastes better than anything store bought and cheaper in the long run. Green coffee run approximately $6/lb. Roaster is around $400-450. You can do the break-even math based on how much coffee you go through. For me it was 2 years and I am past that now. The roasters last about 10 years on average.

I too roast my own coffee, any beans over 30 days from roasting are going to be "stale"; I buy mine from Sweet Maria's in Berkeley, usually closer to $7/lb (green) which when roasted is about 14 oz. I roast it in a popcorn popper, they last about 2 years and am always trolling the aisles at the ReUse store for replacements (I have two on the shelf waiting their turn). Get a 1500 watt model without the mesh bottom for about $3.

[bikefish]

I tried Cafe Bustelo for the first time, and I have to say I like it a lot. Made it in my Chemex FWIW. I think what turned me off buying it in the past was it was packaged in bricks, and I didn't want to deal with that. I found it in the can at Wegmans and pulled the trigger. Reasonably priced as well. It is a keeper in my cabinet going forward.

[Kenkat]

I tried Cafe Bustelo for the first time, and I have to say I like it a lot. Made it in my Chemex FWIW. I think what turned me off buying it in the past was it was packaged in bricks, and I didn't want to deal with that. I found it in the can at Wegmans and pulled the trigger. Reasonably priced as well. It is a keeper in my cabinet going forward.

I like that one also and now that you’ve got a can, you can buy the bricks and just refill.

[lazydavid]

I usually spend around $16 / lb for coffee and am thinking about trying something cheaper - $10/lb or so. I typically like medium to light roasts - thinking about trying Ethiopian origin. Any recommendations?

ThankYouJack ,

$8.75 per pound including shipping. Shipped directly from the roaster to you.
"Received a 91-point score from Coffee Review in 2016"

Very good coffee. It should be much better than whatever you pay $16 per pound for.

https://www.costco.com/mother-earth-org ... 20592.html

KlangFool

I started reading this thread thinking "How the hell are they going to get a decent roasted Ethiopian for $10/lb?" Because that's pretty close to what it costs me to roast one myself.

Then I noticed Klang's recommendation at $17.50 for 2 lbs is now $40! I realized that he made it exactly two years ago. And it's more than doubled since then.

[FeralCat]

Seek out a local roaster and try out what they have. We have several in our town who do a good job and are priced in the $9 to $12/pound range.

My local roasters are typically $16 - $22 / lb. It may be worth the premium but I'm going to do some taste testing with some from Costco for about half the price to see if the difference is noticeable.

The large quantities at Costco really are a problem unless you drink a lot of coffee. I would recommend large Airscape storage canisters if you go this route.

[KlangFool]

ThankYouJack ,

$8.75 per pound including shipping. Shipped directly from the roaster to you.
"Received a 91-point score from Coffee Review in 2016"

Very good coffee. It should be much better than whatever you pay $16 per pound for.

https://www.costco.com/mother-earth-org ... 20592.html

KlangFool

I started reading this thread thinking "How the hell are they going to get a decent roasted Ethiopian for $10/lb?" Because that's pretty close to what it costs me to roast one myself.

Then I noticed Klang's recommendation at $17.50 for 2 lbs is now $40! I realized that he made it exactly two years ago. And it's more than doubled since then.

It is 2 bags of 2 pounds each. Aka, 4 pounds for $40 including shipping and handling. It is not 2 lbs for $40.

KlangFool

[Sampan]

I tried Cafe Bustelo for the first time, and I have to say I like it a lot. Made it in my Chemex FWIW. I think what turned me off buying it in the past was it was packaged in bricks, and I didn't want to deal with that. I found it in the can at Wegmans and pulled the trigger. Reasonably priced as well. It is a keeper in my cabinet going forward.

I'm a fan of Bustelo for many years. Besides the bricks and the cans, you can also get it in a "party" sized container, 36 ounces. Not sure what kind of party one would have with so much coffee. They used to be about $12 but you can now find them around 16 at supermarkets. My nearby Aldi's used to carry the bricks for about $3 but they've replaced Bustelo with another brand that isn't that good.

[FrugalFed]

Tim Horton's from the supermarket. It's surprisingly really good, and came in second place in coffee guru James Hoffman's rankings of supermarket coffees (first place was some chichi brand over the $10 limit).

[BUBear29]

Costco Organic Whole Bean Coffee

[chw]

Whole bean from Costco Kirkland brand. Pick your preferred roast- generally you won’t be disappointed.

[fetch5482]

$10/lb is a good budget for 3rd wave speciality coffee.
Try "King of Coffee" (a.k.a. Vilar Imports) on eBay or RhoadesRoast Coffee (google it). They both roast their coffee on the day you place your order and ship it out the same day; so you get very fresh coffee. Get a 5 Lb packet, split it into 8-10 mason jars and put the mason jars in deep freezer as soon as you receive it. Then, when you are ready to use, take one out and let it thaw to room temperature before opening the jar. Keep that jar ourside until you finish the beans, then rinse and repeat with the next mason jar. This way you will preserve the freshness without introducing moisture or too much oxygen into the beans that ruin its taste.

Both Vilar and Rhoades have several varieties, including Kenyan and Ethiopian. They have different roast level options (light/medium/dark) as well. If you like Ethiopian and Kenyan light roasted coffee (generally fruity flavors), you will also probably want to try El Salvador and Costa Rica - both of which have fruity cups generally.

[Irene]

We get Equal Exchange, if that's available in your area. I am a fan of their Midnight Sun. I forget the exact price: I think it's usually a bit more than $10/lb, but frequently on sale for a bit less.

[A440]

I'm not sure about how "best" it is, but we like BJ's Wellesley French Roast brand. $12.99 for 2 lbs 8 oz.

[T4fun]

Doesn't meet the $10 limit but I like the single origin coffee from https://csrcoffee.com/. Currently 5lbs for $67.

[yankees60]

Curious about actual cost per cup of coffee produced.

What is the range of cost per cup of coffee produced for a given $$$$ per pound?

It is exactly straight-line, i.e., $20 pound coffee will result in twice the per cup cost than $10 pound coffee?

Or, is there some kind of variance according to type of coffee?

I've gone years with having no coffee at all.

Now it's usually months.

But I'm considering having more of it.

Given that when I do anything it is usually to the extreme and also, always want to know all the financial angles to it ... the cause of my above questions.

[Ependytis]

Chock Full O Nuts.

+1

[rjbraun]

Amazon Fresh, Colombia Coffee, Medium Roast - currently $13.23 for 2 lbs (ground; slightly cheaper for whole bean)

We've bought this in the past. While Peet's is preferred in our household, it's more expensive and the primary coffee drinker seemed to find Amazon Fresh pretty good (i.e., we would probably buy it if cost were a driving concern)

[NerdicSkier]

We have a buddy that is a coffee guy, and he recommended we stick with McDonald's beans. Says unless you are going boutique you can't beat their quality. Hasn't let us down. Also that we are kidding ourselves if we grind beans at our level.

[TSR]

My go-to for the last few years is Wegman's "specialty" store-brand whole bean coffees, specifically their "Daybreak" (organic) and "Island Blend" coffees. They are $16.99 for two pounds. They are both very good, and I especially appreciate that they print their roast date on the bag -- a lot of places don't -- and that these dates are usually within a month of me trying to purchase it. I have yet to find a better bean per dollar, but I am not a Costco member. I assume that there are some other store brands from the "higher-end grocery stores" that use the same distributor as Wegman's. Regardless, it's always clear from the way people buy this coffee that I'm not the only one who thinks it is a good deal.

[CoAndy]

Personally, I LOVE Lavazza coffee. I think it is the best out there.

[firebirdparts]

We drink bulletproof but it costs more than that.

I'm a fan of McDonalds, Dunkin, Tim Hortons.

[Yuba]

Personally, I LOVE Lavazza coffee. I think it is the best out there.

We just switched also and are really enjoying it

Rick dba Yuba

[eri]

The answer for me was 2# bags of green no2 sidamo for $11. At my cabin I roast every 2 days with a cast iron skillet on my gas stove. Takes about 25 minutes. It’s not nearly as good as the $24/lb stuff I like but is pretty dang good. Fruit and chocolate. It’s fun and my mistakes help me appreciate a more compentant roast.

[dalbright]

I have been using walmart's great value french roast coffee as it was the cheapest by far and I actually liked the taste the most. At roughly 10-11$ for 2 lbs it was also the best value (great value?). It is pre-ground but at the time I start work grinding isn't an option and I just want coffee fast. In retirement I can go for the coffee "experience". I brew it strong and any extra I can save for iced coffee.

[KlangFool]

Curious about actual cost per cup of coffee produced.

What is the range of cost per cup of coffee produced for a given $$$$ per pound?

It is exactly straight-line, i.e., $20 pound coffee will result in twice the per cup cost than $10 pound coffee?

Or, is there some kind of variance according to type of coffee?

I've gone years with having no coffee at all.

Now it's usually months.

But I'm considering having more of it.

Given that when I do anything it is usually to the extreme and also, always want to know all the financial angles to it ... the cause of my above questions.

I use 1 to 15 ratio for my brewing. My brewing method is pour over. 1 gram of coffee to 15 grams of water.

Someone else will have to tell you about their expresso recipe.

KlangFool

[fetch5482]

I use speciality beans and roast coffee at home using a SR800 roaster.

My recipes usually are:

Espresso based drinks: 17.5g grounded beans in, 36-40g of brewed coffee out.

Pourover: 20g grounded beans in, 300g brewed coffee out

Aeropress: 15g grounded beans in, 225g brewed coffee out

Each of these produce different taste profile and I usually drink pourover about 80% of the time, espresso about 15% and Aeropress rarely.

[littlerfish]

Torke

https://www.amazon.com/Torke-Coffee-Cla ... FYHMX?th=1

[Frugal Al]

Although I once recommended the Mother Earth medium roast from Costco online, it has been inconsistent as of late with an off aroma/taste.

[MikeTN]

I have been drinking Lavazza's "Crema e Aroma". Haven't found any inexpensiv e coffee that is better.

[eddot98]

I like Starbucks Cafe Verona, which I get in a 28 ounce package of ground coffee for $11.30 from Amazon on Subscribe and Save ($6.46 per pound).
While I drink Starbucks Pike medium roast or Dunkin coffee when I am in a hotel, I barely tolerate them. Before I left my part time job 5 years ago, I did like McDonald’s coffee.
The best cup of coffee that I have had recently was at a Houston’s restaurant. It turned out to be a Cafe Americano.

[RunMarkRun]

Peets Major Dickinson from Costco. Everytime I try something else, I'm disappointed.