12 Best Coffee Beans of 2023 [Tested and Reviewed]

Starbucks Breakfast Blend uses 100 percent Arabica coffee beans with a medium roast. Although many of Starbucks' other coffees are roasted more deeply, this particular blend uses a relatively lighter roast. It also claims to have a sweet aroma reminiscent of orange and brown sugar. This coffee gave us a fresh sweetness, as if it contained honey and orange, when we drank it black. The flavor had a good balance of sharp bitterness and bright high notes, and the smooth texture made it go down easily. The hint of sweetness left in the finish was also refreshing.

Adding milk didn't result in any loss of body, and even as café au lait, the creamy texture mixed well with the bitter flavor of coffee. Adding sugar was also a delight, and our testers said things like "The luscious, sweet flavor didn't take away from the savory coffee flavor."

People who like their coffee black will certainly be pleased with its stark bitterness and bold body, while those who prefer to add a bit of milk and sugar won't be disappointed either. Due to its appeal to a wide range of tastes, this is one blend you should highly consider adding to your shopping basket.

You can expect a fruity, brilliant aroma from Lavazza Premium Coffees' Espresso Italiano. It uses 100 percent Arabica beans at a medium roast. Drinking this coffee black offers a fruity taste somehow reminiscent of green apples, and the flavor was as vibrant as the packaging claims. The body is on the bold side, with a taste that goes down smooth without being overpowering. The blend is primarily bitter with a touch of brightness, which makes for a nice balance and a pleasant finish.

Even as café au lait, the balance of flavors remained intact. This resulted in a satisfying mix of bitter coffee with sweet milk, and adding sugar made it equally palatable. We received comments from our testers like "The slight bitterness of coffee combined with the sweet, creaminess of milk and sugar results in a rich, extravagant flavor." This blend delivers on satiating bitter flavor, whether you drink it black or with milk. With its strong body, it makes the perfect accompaniment for buttery cookies or cake.

Tandem's coffee blend Stoker Kinda Dark claims to have a scent of dark chocolate or warm honey. It uses beans from different regions depending on the season. We thought coffee made from this blend gave off an aroma similar to warm caramel. The flavor strikes a good balance between bitter and bright notes, while the texture is on the thin side. While the expert who tried it suggested, "The finish is a bit harsh," the mild body and gentle sweetness should more than make up for it.

Adding milk resulted in a creamy texture and sweet flavor similar to baked sweet potatoes. The balance of bitter and fruity flavors worked well with the creamy milk, making for a rich café au lait that should be a joy to your taste buds. Introducing sugar again changed the flavor to something like roasted nuts. One of our testers said, "This is just the thing I'm looking for when I crave sweetened coffee." We can safely recommend this blend to people who enjoy thick, sweet café au lait. And if you don't mind a mild body, you can enjoy it black, too.

Those who enjoy a dark roast will be interested in Peet's Major Dickason's Blend, which is made with 100 percent Arabica beans. It touts itself as having a smooth texture and exceptional balance of flavors. When we brewed a cup of coffee with this blend, we found the aroma was indeed like that of dark chocolate or oranges, but wasn't particularly powerful. The body is mostly mild, and the flavors are balanced well between a strong bitterness and a hint of fruitiness.

The smooth texture had our testers saying things like, "It has a thick mouthfeel that leaves flavor on my palate even after I've finished drinking." Possibly due to the subtle body, adding milk resulted in dulling the flavor of coffee. But a bit of sugar worked wonders for both the flavor and texture, and had our testers saying things like "Even though the bitterness of coffee isn't very noticeable, the aroma and bold sweetness work well together." This blend should satisfy people who prefer their coffee with milk and sugar, as opposed to black.

Eight O'Clock Coffee's Dark Italian Espresso uses 100 percent Arabica coffee beans and claims to have a bold body while maintaining a delicate flavor. Taking a whiff of a cup of black coffee brewed from this blend gave us notes of raisins or herbs. The body is definitely as bold as the maker claims, with a primarily bitter flavor accented by a hint of acidity, resulting in an overall rich taste.

However we noticed it gave off a sour aroma once it began to cool down, so we highly recommend brewing an amount that you can easily drink while it's still hot. We couldn't help but notice a harsh bitterness after adding milk to this coffee. If you're hoping to drink a smooth, mild cup of café au lait, you'll need to increase the ratio of milk to coffee. Thankfully, adding some sugar helped to soften the bitterness, and our testers said, "It was just sweet enough to make a cup go down easily."

You'll discover a mix of coffee beans from East African countries like Ethiopia as well as beans from Guatemala in Blue Bottle Coffee's Bright blend. The maker claims the flavor is balanced just right to go well with milk. The aroma from a cup of coffee brewed from this blend gave us notes of almonds and strawberries. As for flavor, it has a subdued acidity accented with a hint of citrus peel, and isn't overpowering.

It may not have the straightforward bitterness that some people expect from coffee, but it's a good choice for people who enjoy coffee with a refreshing, acidic flavor. Adding milk ended up emphasizing the citrusy flavor, which is an acquired taste. One of our testers said, "The milk made the already mild flavor even harder to notice." The sweet creaminess of milk produced a satisfying texture, but little remained of the original flavor of the coffee.

Columbia Medium Roast is a blend by Amazon's own brand, Amazon Fresh, that uses 100 percent Arabica coffee beans. Its claim to fame is the full body and well-balanced flavors. A cup of black coffee made from this blend had a unique aroma like caramelized sugar or peanuts. The flavor does indeed balance a strong bitterness with just a bit of acidity, but the lack of any hint of sweetness results in a particularly bold bitter note. With its full body and rich flavor, it will most likely appeal to those who want a direct hit of bitterness from their coffee.

When we made café au lait from this coffee, the bitterness overpowered the flavor of milk and didn't deliver the mellow texture you would expect. But when we added a bit of sugar, it calmed the bitterness down and resulted in a good balance of flavors. It produced a good combination between the coffee's bitterness and the creaminess of milk and sugar that will appeal to those with a sweet tooth.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters' Holler Mountain blend combines East African coffee beans with South American coffee beans. The manufacturer aims for a flavor of chocolate with a soothing texture. This coffee produced a fruity aroma that reminded us of cherries or green apples. It has a mild body and delicate flavor that's primarily bright, making for a good balance of sweet and bitter. This blend is different from the other coffees we tried, with their noticeable bitterness and full body, but it could still be a good choice for people who enjoy the simple flavor of bright, acidic coffee.

The flavor of coffee became hard to notice once we added milk. Introducing sugar to the mix hid the flavor of coffee even further, and one of our testers even went as far as saying, "It pretty much feels like I'm drinking sweetened milk." If you prefer coffee with bright flavors and drink it black, this blend might hit the spot, but we didn't think it went well with milk and sugar.

Death Wish Coffee's Whole Bean Coffee blend contains Arabica beans and Robusta beans, and they claim the full-bodied blend is perfect to shake off morning drowsiness. This coffee gave off the scent of chocolate or caramelized sugar, and could even be compared to cigar smoke. We certainly couldn't miss the powerful bitter flavor that hit our tongues the moment we drank it, but the lack of balance it could have had by introducing some acidity or sweetness made it difficult to finish.

Even adding milk couldn't produce a mild brew, as the tartness of coffee and coarse texture became even more noticeable. But a dash of sugar helped tame the strong bitterness, and we received a comment from one of our testers that "it's easy to drink thanks to it having a bitter flavor that is a bit more mild." As long as you plan on making a sweet café au lait with it, you could consider giving it a try.

La Colombe's Nizza Medium Roast touts itself as having honey-like sweetness with the aroma of roasted nuts. Black coffee made from this blend did indeed give off an extravagant aroma similar to honey. The body is quite bold, as is the upfront bitter flavor.

But its astringency resulted in an unpleasant texture on the tongue, and one of our testers complained, "It has the consistency of water, but leaves an astringent aftertaste ." Once the bitterness was made milder with milk it was easier to drink, but then the flavor and body of the coffee were largely masked. Adding sugar exacerbated this, making us wonder if we were really even drinking coffee.

Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend Medium Roast coffee uses 100 percent Arabica coffee beans. Black coffee made with this blend had a citrusy aroma like oranges. The bright taste enveloped our mouths and noses, and there was little bitterness to speak of. While it didn't taste flat or muddy, it also lacked body and distinct flavor, with the result being our testers saying things like, "The flavor is too bland for what I expect from coffee."

Adding milk simply made the coffee flavor even harder to perceive, and was more like drinking milk with a slight aroma of coffee. Spooning in some sugar nearly eliminated any trace of coffee, and would come up short for coffee lovers expecting a rich café au lait.

Mayorga's Café Cubana Roast uses a particularly deep roast often seen in Cuban coffee. It contains 100 percent Arabica coffee beans grown in Peru and Honduras. Coffee brewed with this blend gave off a grassy, raw aroma similar to charred wheat. The flavor certainly made an impact on our taste buds, but the consistency was thin and the body too mild, and on top of that, it left an astringent aftertaste.

Our testers also noticed the weak flavor, saying, "It's like a watered-down café Americano, and not really the type of coffee I'd want to drink." Adding some milk did actually help to bring forward some bitterness, but the overall underwhelming combination of flavors didn't improve. Sugar only made things worse, resulting in a sort of ashy aroma and harsh texture.