# Supermarket Beans



## Blaven (Mar 24, 2019)

Whilst being able to order anything I want from any roaster online, I don't consume enough beans per month to make financial sense after postage is factored in.

I'm interested in any favourable recommendations for supermarket sourced beans which you consider good-to reasonable. My standards are not sky high. Our normal coffee prior to the arrival of the Lelit Mara was always Lavazza Rosa. We like an Italian-type roast and drink flat whites. I had to experiment recently with Coop's Italian beans and was pleasantly surprised.

I know that taste is personal and subjective, but I'd value any pointers. I live in the Scottish Highlands, the only local shopping is the Coop, with the nearest Tesco/ASDA being a 2 hr. drive away.


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## Fez (Dec 31, 2018)

If you take out a monthly subscription then usually works out cheaper, so the postage is less/almost free.

Example hasbean sub is £7ish a month for a bag delivered


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## Bacms (Jul 25, 2019)

Either that or do a large order and then freeze the beans. I do remember some recommendations of supermarket beans but think they are only available on waitrose and sainsbury

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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

It's not my preference of roaster but Order some Dark stuff from coffee compass as least you'll get it with a week of roast date, it will be close you your preference .. And some of it is £15 a kilo which is as cheap as your supermarket stuff.


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## Junglebert (Jan 7, 2019)

Some roasters don't charge extra for delivery, Crankhouse and Django to name but two.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Personally, the only supermarket bean that I've found acceptable is Illy medium roast. I've tried lots of others, especially when recommended by people on this forum and they've all been poor to awful, especially the dreadful Aldi beans a few people were raving about a while ago, but as you say, taste is subjective. I've tried Lavazza Rosa and didn't like that.

If you're so far away from a wide selection, maybe a subscription would be good as mentioned above. Dog&hat do a varied one using different roasters every month. It's 2 bags for £17 I think. If that's too expensive or too much coffee to use in the month maybe Hasbean or one of the other roasters subs could suit you better.

One thing I'd avoid is going down the bulk buy and freeze for months option. I've never found freezing has anything but a small effect on retaining freshness, although that is opening a can of worms on this forum.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

What do you mean by Italian roast?

A lot of the better Italian roasters tend to now roast light to medium, but in Britain it's often a word use to describe a very dark and oily roast which most speciality roasters avoid. Coffee Compass and Roberts&co are two exceptions off the top of my head.


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## Blaven (Mar 24, 2019)

Coop Italian Style Fairtrade Coffee Beans. Yes, they're dark and oily. I did admit to having unsophisticated tastes. They are not unpleasant.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Blaven said:


> Coop Italian Style Fairtrade Coffee Beans. Yes, they're dark and oily. I did admit to having unsophisticated tastes. They are not unpleasant.


 You like what you like, we're all different. I'd look at Roberts and Co. They've been around for probably over 100 years and have nailed the more traditional approach in their blends, even I like the lighter ones ( still very dark). That' the blends, I'm not sure about single origin.

Although I realise this doesn't help you find a bean you can pick up locally, I'm not sure what else to suggest because you could probably work through everything your Coop sells in a few months and with the other options you mention being so far away, I'm guessing there's no Waitrose or even better Booths near you?


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## Komatoes (Mar 11, 2019)

Horsham is free delivery when you spend £15. Or buy quite a few and freeze them from any roaster, that's what I do as I don't get through that many beans either.

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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Exploring Amazon's various makes of beans may be an option.I found that Rosa didn't work at all well in an espresso machine and used to use it in a french press.

Amazon's are always likely to be very fresh but there are a lot more beans available in 1kg packs. I actually liked these and didn't notice any problems just using them and not worrying about storage

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000SDMFC0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tasting notes

The skillful selection and combination of the best sources creates a unique blend which fuses sweet notes with delicate aromas of fresh flowers and fruits accompanied by hints of chocolate. This creates a perfect balance between aromas and flavour. Roasting is skilfully fine-tuned to enhance the aromatic characteristics of the blend, and checks are carried out to guarantee the same outstanding quality 365 days a year.

Might suite if you like the chocolate notes. Unlike some of there others it brews well at the usual ratios - something like 1 to 2.6. Makes a good americano  for me anyway using 17g. In milk for me I think I would find it a bit weak but I like stronger coffee.

What I do with my fresh roasted may help. I split them into 250g vented cans. Let them mature. Then start using one lot and stick the rest in the fridge. They are never in for much over a month, usually a bit less. It keeps the grinder setting constant for me. Before doing this I would have to go finer as they age. Actually I went on holiday and forgot to put them in so out for 9 days. Had to adjust the grinder when I started using them. When they had gone another lot came out and grinder went to where it usually goes. From there I may need to make some very small adjustment. The beans that were left out needed a big one.

Or as some people do split them into sealable bags, getting as much air out as possible and freeze them.

Don't open either option until they have warmed up to ambient otherwise water will condense onto them.

If you go for fresh roasted and enough to get free postage it might be best to get a selection to find out which ones you like. Pick your own.  That way you will get some idea what the descriptions really mean as far as you are concerned.

John

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The 17g is for a 10oz americano so might be ok in a smaller milk.


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## Blaven (Mar 24, 2019)

You know.........I never thought of Amazon! Thank you, and thank you all for your input.

Off to France for a month on Monday, so the van will be laden with wine and coffee beans on return leg from their excellent Hypermarches! I shall be using our trusty Atomic Robbiatti aka 'La Sorrentina' stovetop again for a month for our morning mug.

Decomissioning the Lelit and cleaning the Mignon before we go.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Blaven said:


> You know.........I never thought of Amazon! Thank you, and thank you all for your input.
> 
> Off to France for a month on Monday, so the van will be laden with wine and coffee beans on return leg from their excellent Hypermarches! I shall be using our trusty Atomic Robbiatti aka 'La Sorrentina' stovetop again for a month for our morning mug.
> 
> Decomissioning the Lelit and cleaning the Mignon before we go.


Amazon beans may be ok, but they are usually flushed with nitrogen to keep it "fresh". Problem is, once the bag is open, it will degrade really quickly. That was the case with Rave Coffee beans sold on Amazon.

Why not just try the roaster directly? Or a coffee subscription?


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## Obidi (Feb 23, 2019)

Blaven said:


> You know.........I never thought of Amazon! Thank you, and thank you all for your input.
> 
> Off to France for a month on Monday, so the van will be laden with wine and coffee beans on return leg from their excellent Hypermarches! I shall be using our trusty Atomic Robbiatti aka 'La Sorrentina' stovetop again for a month for our morning mug.
> 
> Decomissioning the Lelit and cleaning the Mignon before we go.


 Hi, which beans do you like from the hypermarche?


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## Blaven (Mar 24, 2019)

Obidi said:


> Hi, which beans do you like from the hypermarche?


 I will need to see what's available once there?


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

France is catching up slowly, but in general it's a long way behind the UK and Scandinavia when it comes to speciality coffee. The supermarkets are full of cheap blends that are high in robusta as it's what they're used to. It is usually dark roasted though, so may suit. The food on the other hand can be sublime.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Blaven said:


> You know.........I never thought of Amazon! Thank you, and thank you all for your input.
> 
> Off to France for a month on Monday, so the van will be laden with wine and coffee beans on return leg from their excellent Hypermarches! I shall be using our trusty Atomic Robbiatti aka 'La Sorrentina' stovetop again for a month for our morning mug.
> 
> Decomissioning the Lelit and cleaning the Mignon before we go.


 If your gonna order online do it from a decent roaster, will be fresher and they pay tax


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## Blaven (Mar 24, 2019)

cold war kid said:


> France is catching up slowly, but in general it's a long way behind the UK and Scandinavia when it comes to speciality coffee. The supermarkets are full of cheap blends that are high in robusta as it's what they're used to. It is usually dark roasted though, so may suit. The food on the other hand can be sublime.


 Yes, it'll be interesting to see what's available, and compare it to the Dutch supermarkets we frequented in May with massive choice.I take everyone's comments seriously, and again value your opinions.


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## Blaven (Mar 24, 2019)

Mrboots2u said:


> If your gonna order online do it from a decent roaster, will be fresher and they pay tax


 I hear what you're saying.


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

Mrboots2u said:


> It's not my preference of roaster but Order some Dark stuff from coffee compass as least you'll get it with a week of roast date, it will be close you your preference .. And some of it is £15 a kilo which is as cheap as your supermarket stuff.


 I can vouch for Coffee Compass Ethiopian Highland dark roast, a beautiful all round mouth flavour, a very dark bean and will likely have a great sheen to the beans, looking forward to re ordering when I get back to the UK. Take a bit of dialling in, just part of the fun.

As a quick fix give ALDI's beans a try, No's 4 or 5 one of them is Italian, memory doesn't serve me well by the name, do a search and you will come across ALDI's being mentioned as a stop gap.

Jon.


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## winterlight (Feb 27, 2016)

I may get crucified for this, but I genuinely enjoy Sainsbury's House Blend beans which are about £2.30 a pack. The taste is strong and uncomplicated, but with a drop of milk it's a cheap and simple pleasure. I imagine it's a good coffee for loading up with syrups if that's your thing.


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## Tonino (Mar 26, 2018)

Buying from supermarkets, TK max stores have really good selection of imported beans from around the globe. You can find exotic Italian, not the most famous, Spanish, German, French, even from across the pond. There are some examples from a small coffee shops and roasters, I had once from Ireland " Slumber Jack " espresso blend, very tasty coffee. There are pre ground too for the ppl without grinders. Worth looking at it. 
Regards


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