Coffee Review

Comparing supermarket coffee brands

There may be no such thing as a single best coffee because individual tastes vary so much. So for this report, we looked for coffees that score well in multiple taste tests and are widely available at supermarkets. One exception is our Fair Trade category; most of the reviewers who test Fair Trade-certified or organic coffees focus almost exclusively on specialty brands.

Consumers have two basic choices: whole-bean and pre-ground coffees. Whole-bean coffee must be ground before brewing, and most coffee experts recommend whole-bean coffee over pre-ground because grinding before brewing makes for fresher flavor. According to Kenneth Davids, editor of CoffeeReview.com, ground coffee begins to lose its flavor in as little as an hour because the coffee's natural oils evaporate quickly after grinding, even when stored properly. On the other hand, when stored in an airtight container, whole-bean coffee can retain most of its flavor for up to three weeks after roasting. With the exception of Maxwell House's Decaf Original Roast, all of our Best Reviewed coffee picks are available in whole-bean or pre-ground varieties.

Experts also recommend looking for a coffee that is made solely from high-quality arabica beans, which produce top flavor. We noted that coffees made with robusta beans, a cheaper alternative considered to be inferior to arabica beans, often didn't measure up in taste tests. Robusta beans are usually used in instant coffees or cheaper supermarket blends. All of the coffees in our Best Reviewed chart are made with 100 percent arabica beans. Coffees also come in various roasts -- generally light, medium or dark. These terms correspond to how long the coffee beans have been roasted. Light roasts are roasted for the shortest amount of time, while dark roasts are roasted the longest. Which roast you prefer is largely a matter of personal preference, although medium roasts are the most popular in the United States, according to the National Coffee Association.

Experts are less positive when it comes to decaffeinated coffee. In taste tests, decaf coffees do not perform as well as their caffeinated counterparts, since the decaffeination process ultimately affects the oil and flavor of the coffee beans. Contrary to popular belief, decaf coffee does contain caffeine, just much less than a regular cup of coffee.

Additionally, a growing trend in coffee is organic production and Fair Trade certification. Organic coffee beans are grown without herbicides or pesticides, and Fair Trade-certified coffee is purchased directly from the farmer, who is guaranteed a minimum payment in addition to extra incentives for growing their beans organically. According to TransFair USA, the certifying agency for Fair Trade products in the United States, nearly 60 percent of Fair Trade-certified coffee sold in the United States is also organic. Fair Trade and organic coffees are typically more expensive than mass-produced coffee.

The best reviewers, including ConsumerReports.org and Cook's Illustrated magazine, take pains to prepare each coffee the exact same way -- using the same type of water and same type of coffee maker. ConsumerReports.org provides the most credible review of coffee in its report, which evaluates 19 brands of regular and decaf coffee. Cook's Illustrated magazine hasn't updated its report on supermarket coffee in several years, but a recent report on decaf coffee is one of the best sources of information for those who prefer less caffeine. Reports from Real Simple, Prevention and Delicious Living magazines are also helpful, but their testing methodology is not as detailed.

For in-depth reviews of individual coffees, we turned to Kenneth Davids, the editor of CoffeeReview.com. Davids' coffee reviews are some of the most detailed on the web, and he includes a great amount of detail on each coffee, rating each coffee on a 100-point scale. CoffeeReview.com focuses mainly on specialty and gourmet brands, but there are some older articles of note on supermarket coffee.

As you might expect, not all reviewers like the same coffee, and different varieties within a brand can earn different ratings. Popular brands like Starbucks and Folgers don't earn much support in professional taste tests. Food & Wine magazine names Starbucks' Gold Coast Blend (*Est. $12 for 16 oz.) as one of its favorite coffees from a big roaster. However, in two separate tests conducted by different organizations, Starbucks' House Blend (*Est. $10 for 16 oz.) takes a backseat to other brands. Testers describe it as having a burnt taste. One supermarket coffee, Folgers 100% Columbian (*Est. $5 for 11.5 oz.) also fails to get high marks in tests. "An example of what coffee professionals call a dirty or uneven coffee," Kenneth Davids writes. Folgers is also included in two professional tests, where it also fails to impress reviewers.