Best coffee beans ever?

[Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep]

So am about to come into possession of a bean to cup machine but, having only ever had a stove top moka pot or cafetiere before, I need advice on where to get decent beans.
Supermarket or subscription? Boutique coffee supplier or some random wholesaler?

Come on fellow addicts - share your sources...

Honestly I have tried all the kinds of beans...cheap, expensive...but it's like wine, it comes down to one you like and that's not always the most expensive! I have had beans from fortnums I hated because they were too oily and bitter for me, beans from Ocado own-brand that were just fine, small batch artisanal ones that tasted like soap and others that I loved so much but could never find again (often when on holiday). My favourite is still IKEA though, their coffee in the store is too weak for me but using their beans at home is my ideal.

I personally really like a company called Extract, based in Bristol. Small batch hand roasted, but I don’t think they are outrageous prices.

I quite enjoy Pact coffee! I've tried a few lovely flavours. I like strong but smooth and there are a few that have hit the brief.
Alternatively, if you have a Lidl nearby and they still have their Italian range in, I very recently purchased a large bag of arrabica beans and they've been surprisingly lovely!

We've started getting our coffee beans from Miles, really nice, good value & freshly roasted.
The fresher the roast makes the biggest difference in our espresso maker, we've got one of those wanky hipster hand pull Rok things.

Kenyan Peaberry.

I feel really reluctant to share the name of my coffee supplier - even though they're online and deliver nationally. I don't want demand to increase in case it leads to poorer service or increased prices.

But anyhow - I find I have hoarded the bags my beans arrive in, so I can be fairly exact as to which have stood out:

Harass - Yemen: Markaz Ul Wadi Manqazah

Saan'a - Yemen: Ali Al Lahaba

Zahra, Haraaz - Yemen: Mahal Aqeeq Ul Yemen

Ethiopia: Ana Sora / Banko Gutiti / Sharo / Yirgacheffe Chelektu / Uraga

India: Balmaadi

Sulawesi / Indonesia: Tana Toraja

Burundi: Kirundo

I really want to set up a subscription (to save on postage) but I know I'd receive endless Central and South American beans which I've so far found relatively less exciting.

There's no doubt it's an extravagance - but worth every penny.

Have a search on your local facebook groups, maybe something will come up for a local distributer. We have a local coffee roastery and subscription service called Perky Blenders. Apart from a really cool name, they have fantastic coffee. They post everywhere.
perkyblenders.com/collections/coffee

@PursuingProxemicExactitude

I feel really reluctant to share the name of my coffee supplier - even though they're online and deliver nationally. I don't want demand to increase in case it leads to poorer service or increased prices.

But anyhow - I find I have hoarded the bags my beans arrive in, so I can be fairly exact as to which have stood out:

Harass - Yemen: Markaz Ul Wadi Manqazah

Saan'a - Yemen: Ali Al Lahaba

Zahra, Haraaz - Yemen: Mahal Aqeeq Ul Yemen

Ethiopia: Ana Sora / Banko Gutiti / Sharo / Yirgacheffe Chelektu / Uraga

India: Balmaadi

Sulawesi / Indonesia: Tana Toraja

Burundi: Kirundo

I really want to set up a subscription (to save on postage) but I know I'd receive endless Central and South American beans which I've so far found relatively less exciting.

There's no doubt it's an extravagance - but worth every penny.

Pm me?

I treat myself to great fresh coffee from these guys:

twodaycoffee.co.uk/

Quite pricey but good for a special treat. Keep hinting that I'd like a subscription as a present but no luck yet.

Definitely have a look locally for a roaster. My city has lots of independent coffee shops who also roast their own beans.

I second MirandaMarple.
It very much depends on what your taste is.
I like quite strong, but not acidic coffee. I have a local roaster with a wide variety of beans, you go in and tell them what sort of thing you want and they recommend.
At the moment my "house" coffee is Lavazza Dolce e Gusto, but I also have some Jamaican Blue Mountain (ruinously expensive, so a treat) and some Kenya Arabica. In the past I have had Indian and Indonesian beans that were very flavoursome.

Very personal choice OP but I use Morrisons. It's £1.50 for just over a 200g bag. They have Italian and Expresso under their 'normal' range and at a higher cost, Brazillian at £3. I've tried lots of different types but these are what I use day to day.

VictoriaLudorum you've reminded me that I've been meaning to ask my favourite coffee suppliers, for years, why they don't sell Jamaican Blue Mountain beans. (Single best cup of coffee I've ever had was at the airport in Kingston, Jamaica.)

I can think of a million possible reasons but I'd like to know. Partly because it makes me mistrust places that do stock Blue Mountain in England. I once saw some ground BM coffee for sale in a certain luxury department store - months beyond its sell by date.

@greycloudysky

Very personal choice OP but I use Morrisons. It's £1.50 for just over a 200g bag. They have Italian and Expresso under their 'normal' range and at a higher cost, Brazillian at £3. I've tried lots of different types but these are what I use day to day.

Interesting. Their organic ground coffee is incredible but I didn't notice they did whole beans. Will check it out!

I have found my people

I like very round, rich, nutty flavours. Not fond of acidic or sharper brews. Used to live near an awesome place and they roasted, ground and blended their own stuff. They stocked Jamaican blue, my god it was spendy. £25 for 150g or something I think.

@Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep

I like very round, rich, nutty flavours. Not fond of acidic or sharper brews. Used to live near an awesome place and they roasted, ground and blended their own stuff. They stocked Jamaican blue, my god it was spendy. £25 for 150g or something I think.

If you like nutty, then you'll like their Brazillian beans, that I linked to above:

Grown in the Minas Gerais area of Brazil, these medium bodied coffee beans are sweet and nutty with a hint of almond.

Fairtrade, Strength - medium/strong - 4, Sweet and nutty roast coffee beans, with a hint of almond.

Ooh stop ! You're getting me all hot and bothered over here!

I did get a couple of packets of PACT coffee once and they were amazing. One of them had almost cherry flavours to it. This is going to be soooo dangerous!

@Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep

Ooh stop ! You're getting me all hot and bothered over here!

I did get a couple of packets of PACT coffee once and they were amazing. One of them had almost cherry flavours to it. This is going to be soooo dangerous!

Does anyone have any recommendation for decaf whole beans? I’ve been working my way through smaller suppliers but keep coming back to Lavazza.

Aldi italian beans are great, good depth, not flimsy. Tesco italian was good too, but trying to remember if that was just ground or if they ever had beans too...I also noticed the packaging has recently changed, it was a greyish white and green and now it's off white cream with "italian style" wording which I am sure never used to be there

My favourite ever is San Francisco Bay Rainforest beans

You can get them other places but Costco often have them on promotion so I buy loads then! I am having withdrawal pangs for costco atm...haven't been for ages!

I tried Pact, but nothing they sent really floated my boat and often the beans seemed really small, pale dry and dusty. The SFbay beans are big shiny and plump and oily in a good way
I sit in the car on the way home clutching, squeezing and sniffing a bag of coffee beans ...dh says it's like Gollum and His Precious.

I love a local place called Carnival Coffee Roasters but they deliver nationwide too. They have some really interesting varieties and do a subscription service or just ad hoc purchases.

Definitely not supermarkets. Good roasted beans should be sold with days of being roasted. You can’t get this in a supermarket. Mancoco do nice beans. They freshly roast and deliver within days of roasting. It is down to personal taste though, and trial and error.

For those looking for decaf I can recommend these

Oops posted too soon!

Grind house Swiss Water Decaf
www.grindhousecoffee.co.uk/products/grind-house-premium-brazil-swiss-water-decaffeinated

Safi coffee definitely.