10 Best Coffee Beans for Espresso 2020 [Buying Guide]

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Heather
Patton

Jennifer
Trimbee

Samantha
Dewitt

How to Choose the Best Coffee Beans for Espresso

Coffee beans are an art form and it’s not always easy to tell what beans are best for different styles of brewing. If you’re looking for the best coffee beans for espresso, you’ve come to the right place. We did a lot of research and stayed up really late to put together these reviews to help you find the right beans for you. Before we get started with our top picks, let’s take a look at some of the key features.

Whole Bean: All of these products are whole bean and for good reason. The best espresso is made from whole beans that are ground right before brewing. To do that, you need to start with whole beans.

Package Size: Package sizes vary a bit. The smallest is 12 ounces, the largest is 5 pounds, and there are a lot of options in between. Smaller sizes are easier to keep fresh but larger volumes are by far a better bargain.

Roast: Espresso is best when made from dark roasts so that’s primarily what you’ll find here. If dark roasts aren’t your thing, don’t worry. We found a few medium and medium dark roasts that are delicious, too.

Pieces: Some of these coffee beans come in multi-packs but most of them come one bag at a time. Multi-packs are great as long as you make sure the beans stay fresh while you work your way through the other bags.

Sourced From: Different companies source their beans from different places all over the world. Some brands actually get really specific and tell you the exact region the beans come from. You’ll find beans from India, Ecuador, and Peru to name a few.

Arabica Coffee: Arabica beans are actually the most popular type of coffee bean in the world. Why? Because it’s sweeter, softer, and more acidic and delivers a much better taste. So, it's not surprising that all of our picks are Arabica.

Top 10 Products

Now that you know a little bit more about coffee beans, let’s get into our top picks. Here’s how it works. We put our top and budget picks right at the top of the list so you’ll see them, even if you’re in a hurry. That’s the best way to see the range in products that are available. We found a lot of great options for the best coffee beans for espresso maker so stick around if you can. Alright, let’s get started.

Starbucks Espresso Roast Dark Coffee

Our top pick for best coffee beans for espresso machine comes from a name you probably recognize. This Starbucks Espresso Roast Dark Coffee has an intense flavor with a hint of caramel for sweetness. Master roasters slowly heat the beans to the perfect deep, dark color and robust taste. This is a dark coffee variety and has a fuller body and a much bolder taste that makes a perfect espresso. If you love this coffee, buying in bulk is a way to save a little money and make sure you never run out. This pack includes six 12-ounce bags of the same whole-bean coffee you love in the store only now you can enjoy it right in your own kitchen. For best results, use filtered water and grind beans just before brewing.

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JO ESPRESSO Organic Coffee Beans

Next up is JO ESPRESSO Organic Coffee Beans, the best coffee beans for espresso on a budget. This is a medium-dark roast with heavy dark chocolate undertones and a rich crema for the perfect shot of espresso. Jo Coffee is a small artisan craft coffee roaster that takes their coffee seriously. These whole coffee beans are USDA Certified Organic, Fair Trade Certified, and Kosher Certified. They use only the finest beans and source from all over the world and only purchase directly from the top 2% of all Certified Organic Arabica raw coffee. That’s not all, we also really like the packaging. The bag features the bright green Jo logo and has resealable tape at the opening so you can keep your beans fresh until your next cup.

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Fresh Roasted Coffee Espresso Beans

Next up are Fresh Roasted Coffee Espresso Beans, a strong, dark roast made from 100% Arabica beans. It has a bold rich flavor with a touch of dense, bittersweet red fruits. It’s a little tangy and makes a delicious espresso but also makes a great cup of iced coffee or a classic drip brew. Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC chooses their beans with great care. They source from all over the world and continuously look for great tasting, high-quality beans. If you’re looking for the best green coffee beans for espresso, listen to this. They use eco-friendly roasting that’s lowered their carbon emissions by up to 80%. This 5-pound package of whole coffee beans are USDA certified organic, Fair Trade certified, and are free of GMOs and don’t contain anything synthetic.

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Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Coffee

Next up is our pick for best coffee beans for espresso crema, Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Coffee. Lavazza’s been crafting amazing coffee since 1895 and uses beans from different regions together to get one-of-a-kind flavors. Lavazza cares about their product and the people and places they source from. They work with small farmers in Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam in order to find the best possible beans available. This 2.2-pound bag is filled with whole bean, medium roast coffee with sweet notes of honey, almonds, and dried fruit. It has a pretty strong aroma and a consistently velvety crema for a wonderful espresso experience. Let’s face it, you don’t last for more than 120 years if you don’t know what you’re doing. Lavazza knows coffee.

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Café de Loja Coffee Beans

Café de Loja Coffee Beans are some of the top coffee beans for espresso we found in our research. This 100% Arabica whole bean coffee has a full body and a deep, fruity flavor that makes a great espresso or drip coffee. There’s no bitter aftertaste because the coffee is perfectly roasted to bring out the natural goodness of the beans. Café de Loja sources their beans from Loja, Ecuador where it grows at 6,233 feet above sea level to give it that fresh crisp taste with just the right amount of acidity. Café de Loja understands how important freshness is so they package their coffee in a triple-layered aluminum bag. If your bag tastes stales, contact them within 7 days of arrival and they’ll send you a new one.

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Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso

Next up is Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso. This 5-pound bag contains a mix of beans from South America, Central America, Africa, and India. This Italian roast delivers a rich, full-bodied artisan coffee with a toasty, honeyed aroma. You’ll pick up notes of molasses and cocoa with a smokey finish, all from the natural flavor of the bean. This dark roast coffee is great for espresso but also works well in a drip coffeemakers, French press, percolators, or in reusable K-cups. To keep it fresh, it comes in a foiled-lined, valved bag. Because this bag is so large, it’s ideal for offices or cafes were a lot of coffee is served throughout the day. Buy a bag for the breakroom or keep it all for yourself. It’s that good.

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Kicking Horse Coffee

Kicking Horse Coffee is up next and they’re truly some really good coffee beans for espresso. This medium whole bean coffee is sourced from Africa, Indonesia, Central & South America from farmers and sustainable businesses who grow their beans in a socially and environmentally responsible way. This coffee has a bright flavor with hints of sweet fruit and cocoa. The smell is amazing, too, with hints of blackcurrant, milk chocolate, and a bit of brown sugar. Not only are these beans a great choice for espresso, but you can also use it in a French press, drip machine, or as a cold brew. This coffee is certified organic and free trade and the company is also dedicated to sustainability and helping the community of farmers that provide their beans.

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Cafe Don Pablo Gourmet Coffee

Up next is Cafe Don Pablo Gourmet Coffee, a special blend of Colombian Supremo and Sumatra Mandheling for a deep, complex flavor with a distinct European flair. The source their beans from various places all over the world but always look for the highest quality crops grown in nutrient-rich volcanic soil in well-known coffee growing regions all around the world. That’s not all, they also use a special roasting technique that produces deep, complex flavors without any bitterness. These beans are roasted until their natural sugars fully carmelize and when you taste it, you’ll pick up on hints of dark chocolate and earthy tones. Their roasting facility is certified for organic production and they roast in small batches to make sure the flavor is just right with every batch.

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Verena Street Espresso Beans

Verena Street Espresso Beans is a dark roast made for fine grind espresso or you can use it for coarse ground drip coffee, too. They source their beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms to help promote sustainability and protect the farmers, wildlife, and environment and use different beans together to get the perfect blend. The company roasts their beans at a state-of-the-art facility in Dubuque, Iowa where they strive to maintain a consistently high level of quality, freshness, and customer service. To achieve this, the use only the finest beans and roast in small batches for better quality control. Plus, they keep their warehouse minimally stocked so you know you’re not getting coffee that’s been sitting on the shelves. That means your coffee will be delivered faster and it will be as fresh as possible.

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Espresso Royale Bourbon Barrel Coffee

Last up is Espresso Royale Bourbon Barrel Coffee, one of the most unique products we found. Espresso Royale dates back to the coffeehouses in San Franciso, North Beach, and Berkeley back in the 1980s which is where it draws its style and traditions. They partnered with the liquor experts from Barrel Guys to develop this exceptional flavor profile that honestly just smells amazing. These are Fair Trade beans sourced from Peru that have a full body flavor with hints of vanilla, oak, and caramel. What’s so special about this coffee is the beans are ages in rare barrels from Kentucky rickhouses where they were once used to age whiskey. The 12-ounce package is styled to look like a whiskey barrel, which is a nice touch.

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About the Author

Jennifer Trimbee

Expert Researcher and Writer

Jennifer Trimbee, a lead researcher and writer at GeekWrapped, is an expert writer with many years of experience. Jennifer writes about technology, sports, outdoor, and gear products.

Learn more at perfectbrew.com

Article last updated on:

May 12, 2020

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Best Coffee Beans for Espresso

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Starbucks Espresso Roast Dark Coffee

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How to Choose the Best Coffee Beans for Espresso

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Starbucks Espresso Roast Dark Coffee

JO ESPRESSO Organic Coffee Beans

Fresh Roasted Coffee Espresso Beans

Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Coffee

Café de Loja Coffee Beans

Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso

Kicking Horse Coffee

Cafe Don Pablo Gourmet Coffee

Verena Street Espresso Beans

Espresso Royale Bourbon Barrel Coffee

About the Author

TOP PICK

Starbucks Espresso Roast Dark Coffee