The are countless coffee products in the coffee and tea aisle in the grocery store, which can be both confusing and intimidating. Choosing the right coffee can truly be a headache. It’s easy to be swayed by brand name and commercials, but nothing beats personal experience. From years of trying different types of grocery store coffees, a few coffee brands commonly found in supermarkets stand above their competitors and will give you the best bang for your buck. Now the different types of coffee available within each brand are up to personal taste, but here are four brands that have withstood numerous taste tests and stand out as the best.
1.Maxwell House Original – The best tasting common coffee brand in the store. Better than Folgers, Starbucks, and all the other low end brands. You can get a decent sized can for about $5. The coffee has a delicious rich flavor and is less bitter than it’s competition. The most convenient of the value coffee as it is easily found and available and 99.9% of all supermarkets. The beans used has decent flavor but the trick is that they do not overroast their beans like some other brands. A good product for daily consumption and fairly affordable.
2. Lavazza – This brand of coffee might not be available in all of the local supermarkets, but is definitely one of the most delicious if you can find it. You can find a can of this stuff at some places for $5.99 which is quite a deal for this premium brand of Italian coffee. Lavazza originated from Italy and claims to be Italy’s favorite coffee; I’m not sure about that but it’s sure my favorite. This coffee is perfect for making espressos and cappuccino’s. There is no bitterness to the coffee at all, and the taste is not as “dark”. Very delightful from both a taste and value standpoint. If you are lucky you can find it in your local Kroger’s, if not try some of the smaller or non-chain grocery stores.
3. Illy’s – This is another brand of pre-ground coffee that’s great for espressos. However, you can still drink it as your regular coffee and it’s just as good. The quality of their product is without question very high. The price point is a little bit higher than the previously mentioned brands and will cost about $10-12 per a small can. Some people feel that this is worth it and enjoys the taste, personally I would still go with Lavazza. However, Illy’s still remain in the top 3 in terms of quality and price.
4. Nescafe – The king of instant coffee is just that. Nescafe is quick, simple, cheap, and not too bad tasting. While the other three coffees mentioned above will have to be brewed, you can just add hot water to the instant Nescafe products and have pretty decent coffee. A word of caution is the the “premium” Nescafe can be tempting, but the the taste is not much different from the normal type. Personally, I actually prefer the instant IPOH 3-in-1 white coffee packets found in Asian stores over instant Nescafe, but that is more difficult to find. Also, the 3-in-1 packets are not good for black coffee drinkers as the cream and sugar are already mixed with the instant grounds.
Finding the right coffee for you and your family can be quite a fun adventure and really should be explored personally. Hopefully this guides gives you a starting point on where to find economical yet delicious brews. Another fun place to hunt for coffee would be the local coffee bean roasters or small coffee shops. Until next time, drink well and prosper!
