We all love coffee. We’re constantly talking about new and exciting coffees and just the prospect of buying a new exotic coffee is almost as good as actually drinking it. Drinking coffee every day is one of life’s best pleasures. It is also quite expensive. Yes, it’s still infinitely cheaper than going to the coffee shop every day, which doesn’t change the fact that coffee is an expensive habit. This article provides information about cheap coffee beans in the market.
Don’t worry, though. It doesn’t have to be an expensive habit. If we choose our daily coffee with care, we can save enough on coffee to still be able to afford an expensive blend every now and then. It should be perfectly balanced between having our trusty ol’ affordable everyday brew and our emergency fancy coffee when we need it (or when we have people over!).
The biggest mistake we can make, after all, is thinking exotic coffee is an everyday thing. You’ll go broke very fast that way. Instead, the way to go about buying coffee for yourself is to find a balanced, good but not great coffee that you enjoy and isn’t too fancy.
Best Budget Cheap Coffee Beans brands
Lavazza Super Crema
2.2 pounds per bag
- Roast: Medium
- Flavor Profile: Hazelnut, Brown Sugar
- Body: Mild and Creamy
- Overall: 8.5
Lavazza is an all-Italian brand that is famous for having some of the world’s largest coffee-roasting facilities in the world. They ship coffee from all over the world to Italy, where they roast it. Enjoy a cup of delicious, authentic Italian coffee!
Lion Coffee French Roast– One of the Cheap Coffee Beans
12 pods per box
- Roast: Dark
- Flavor Profile: Exotic French Roast
- Body: Full Bodied
- Overall: 9
It doesn’t get any more local than this. Lion coffee is grown on American soil – in Hawaii, more specifically. The arabica beans grown in Hawaii are particularly sweet and creamy, making this French Roast hit that sweet spot between bitterness and sweetness. Great with cream!
Folgers Black Silk Coffee-Cheap Coffee Beans
72 pods per package
- Roast: Dark
- Flavor Profile: Smooth
- Body: Bold
- Overall: 8
Folger’s brings us a very good price on what is objectively a whole lot of coffee pods. The Black Silk coffee is a delicious dark roast with a super bold body— it keeps you coming back for more. Great aftertaste and even better texture.
Tim Horton’s 100% Arabica Original Coffee
12 oz per bag
- Roast: Medium
- Flavor Profile: Balanced
- Body: Medium
- Overall: 9
Tim Horton’s classic roast is what we all need in the early morning: a balanced cup of coffee. Reasonably mild and deliciously smooth.
Caribou Coffee ‘Caribou Blend’ Ground
20 oz per bag
- Roast: Medium
- Flavor Profile: Sweet, Spicy, and Berry notes
- Body: Balanced
- Overall: 9
The star player of inexpensive coffees. It has an impressive flavor profile for its price range and delivers great coffee with almost all brewing methods – except for espresso. If you love berry or caramel notes in your coffee, look no further.
Buying Guide
Even when it comes to relatively standard coffees like this, making a decision can be difficult. In this buying guide, we will go over some of the factors that we should always take into consideration before making a purchase.
Quality
We’ve already guided you enough, we think, with the items on the list. We chose some of the best coffees in the lower price range – as long as you stick with these items or similar items of the same brands provided, you’ll be fine. There are of course good & cheap coffees not covered on this list, but we’ll get to that in another article.
The first thing you should avoid when trying to save money is buying instant. Yes it’s cheaper and lasts longer but it’s just not worth it. You’ll end up dissatisfied and, frankly, miserable. The taste can be so far from a good cup of coffee that drinking can be an unpleasant experience. Bad way to start your morning.
There’s also a boost in quality if you keep your coffee as fresh as the first day you opened it. In order to do this, get yourself a couple of coffee canisters (which aren’t expensive at all) to keep all your coffee in. A small investment that’ll keep your coffee delicious for longer!
Arabica vs. Robusta Beans
In the never-ending debate of coffee taste, there is always a back-and-forth between arabica and robusta.
Coffee bushes come in two main families: arabica and robusta. Each of these will have dozens of subvarieties, but depending on their main family, they have certain characteristics.
Arabica is usually milder in flavor and more complex, too. It used to be known as “gourmet” coffee since it was scarce and apparently better than robusta. It’s also very hard to grow, being only viable for farming in high altitudes and temperate climates.
Robusta is a less sophisticated type of coffee bean, to put it that way. Its flavor is less complex than arabica’s – although more balanced. Its caffeine content is almost three times that of arabica beans and because caffeine is naturally bitter, they have a much more bitter flavor. Robusta is usually either used for instant coffee or to bulk up coffee blends.
In other words, robusta is not always bad, but you should be looking to always buy 100% arabica beans. Look for the small print because if it doesn’t say anything, it probably contains robusta beans to bulk it up.
Ground vs. Whole Beans and Freshness
As we mentioned earlier, freshness is incredibly important. If you can keep your coffee fresh for longer then you can enjoy it at its fullest every time.
Whole beans, if properly stored, will last up to three months with full flavor and aroma. Ground coffee, on the other hand, can really only last up to three weeks. Fortunately, if you only ever have one bag of ground coffee around, three weeks is plenty.
Whole beans are undoubtedly better because there’s a freshness that is palpable the moment you grind them. The oils are released and the aroma fills the room: it’s a wonderful ritual.
Buying whole beans will also prove to be much cheaper in the long run, as bags are usually not only cheaper but also bigger than their ground coffee counterparts.
Just remember: get a coffee canister, keep it away from sunlight, and never leave the lid open. Your coffee will be fresh as new if you follow those three simple rules!
Roast
What kind of flavor you get from coffee is ultimately determined by the roast. Dark roasts tend to produce bitter coffee that is however more complex and full of flavor.
Medium roasts still deliver that much needed punch but in a milder way. Flavor pairs well with milk, cream, and so on. When in doubt, always go for a medium roast. It’s truly a roast that nobody dislikes.
Light roasts are much milder and, if done correctly, full of sweet flavors. Since the beans are not cooked as much, they still retain a lot of their fruit-like flavor which they soak from the coffee berry. These are great for morning coffee and for people who don’t appreciate bitterness in coffee.
FAQ
Should I buy Whole Bean or Ground Coffee?
It depends. Do you own a coffee grinder?
If you don’t, however, think about getting one. Buying whole bean coffee is not only better for taste but also saves you a lot of money in the long run. A cheap, manual coffee grinder wouldn’t take you back anymore than 20, 30 bucks. A good electrical grinder can be bought for as little as $100.
Ground coffee is the way to go for people who either don’t own a coffee grinder or don’t want one (too noisy, too much space, etc.). Or it could very well be for people with very busy schedules.
What to Look for in Whole Bean Coffee-One of the Cheap Coffe Beans
What you want is freshness. You may buy whole bean coffee because, well, you want fresh coffee and end up getting a coffee that was roasted weeks ago. What’s the point? It is one of the Cheap Coffee Beans in the market.
Mainly, look for the roast date. The best brands will roast one or two days before packaging and shipping, but that’s not very realistic for cheap coffee. Ideally, we’re looking for coffee that was roasted anywhere between seven and fifteen days before shipping.
The only other big thing you always want to look out for is bean content. If you want to drink arabica coffee, then look for the small print that says so. “100% arabica”. Otherwise, even if the word “arabica” is in the description or even the name of the blend, it will contain up to 20% robusta. This greatly affects the quality of your coffee.
Finally, if you can, get coffee that’s certified. Whatever certification you can get will always be good. Organic, Rainforest Alliance, FairTrade; all of these are good and will make for a better coffee. It’s not a requirement, but it’s certainly better than not having them.
Conclusion- Best Cheap Coffee Beans
One of the best feelings has to be finding a coffee that is cheap and yet it hits just right. The kind of coffee that seems like it was tailored to you specifically, yet it’s not some super-fancy, hard-to-find, expensive kind of coffee.
Because when it comes to coffee, it’s never one hundred percent science. There’s luck, when a particular harvest is great or otherwise a particular roast is great, and there’s art. A good farmer can make cheap beans as delicious as possible, the same way a good master roaster knows how to bring out the best and only the best of qualities in a certain blend.
The quest is never ending. And that’s definitely part of the fun. If you find a particular coffee that you feel is under-appreciated, we’d love it if you shared it with us!
