Inflation filter: coffee

March 10, 2022 11:22 AM

I love Peet's coffee, but I'm trying to trim the budget a little. Is there any supermarket coffee that's as good as Peet's but cheaper? I have tried Bustelo and didn't like it much (muddy). If it matters, we're Melitta cone users and don't want to grind our own beans. And if possible I'd like to avoid Dunkin' and Starbucks, but you can try to convince me if you want. Thank you!
posted by scratch to Food & Drink (20 answers total)

If there's a chance you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I love the Organic Fair Trade Breakfast Blend. It's whole bean, but I just grind it at the store in one of those big grinders and it takes about 90 seconds to do the can. It's been consistent and delicious for many years. I also buy Peets ground organic beans at my local Costco in case that's an option. I pay about $15 for 2 lbs and stock up when it's on sale. I know you asked for supermarket suggestions, but I've never found a delicious option that's also reasonably priced at my supermarket.
posted by quince at 11:33 AM on March 10, 2022 [6 favorites]

Best answer: What roasts do you like? If you like lighter roasts, I've found Stop & Shop's Breakfast Blend to be decent for the price range. The French/Dark Roast from that same line was decent too.

Other options: shopping sales to buy packaged Peet's in the supermarket will likely be cheaper than getting it at the Peet's cafes (if that's what you've been doing), or Trader Joe's (the ones that say "JOE" in big letters and come in Light/Medium/Dark are cheap and decent. I think there's one bagged french roast that is slightly cheaper that I remember disliking, though YMMV.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 11:34 AM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Not sure if it's available near you, but I found that Safeway's Organic generic coffee wasn't too bad. Safeway is owned by Albertsons now, but I don't know if they have east-coast stores. Maybe try one of the higher-end store brands?

NB: I drank Safeway Organic all the time before I found a local friend who roasts his own. I now buy exclusively from him, so I don't know if my tastes have changed. It's possible the store-brand would now taste like crap to me.
posted by hydra77 at 11:35 AM on March 10, 2022

Also, very different tactic but I recently got a cheap "5-cup" (25oz) drip coffeemaker at a thrift store (for mornings when I want to set things up so I can just hit a button and then have coffee) and I find I can make a strong enough mug (or two) with far less coffee grounds than it took me in a Melitta cone. So that is also a potential way to save.

I know a drip coffeemaker doesn't give the same result as a cone. HOWEVER: I learned recently that there's a sweet spot of about 5 minutes in terms of brewing time to get the best results--from when the water hits the grounds to when it's done--and that drip coffeemakers will do a better job if you limit the amount you make in them to what your machine can brew in that time. My 5-cup drip machine finishes in that range and I think its results are better than the giant coffeemakers.
posted by needs more cowbell at 11:46 AM on March 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

Target carries small and large bags of some Peet's varieties, and it sometimes goes on sale.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:59 AM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

You might be using too much Bustelo. Anyway I bought a Mexican Organic in a white and red bag at Costco. Way good, very light and clear, but ever so flavorfjl. I. Case you haven't noticed both Costco and aTrader Joe's have onsite coffee grinders to process the whole beans you buy.
The beans I buy I grind next to the last fineness.
I am gonna try a can of Chock Full 'o Nuts. I am finishing up some Joes. That Costco bag was great.
posted by Oyéah at 11:59 AM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Safeway/Albertson's Organic. We like the Colombian and the French Roast.
posted by Ardnamurchan at 12:07 PM on March 10, 2022

Best answer: I don't know Peet's, but if you want to budget, try Chock Full O' Nuts. I like the darker New York Blend. Original Blend is good too but I just prefer the other. New York Blend is sometimes harder to find. In my locale (North Florida) Chock Full O' Nuts is definitely reasonably priced.
posted by TimHare at 12:07 PM on March 10, 2022

I don't know how it compares to Peet's but my favorite inexpensive coffee for a while has been the German Roast medium at Aldi. It's moderately robust but smoother than most "coffeeshop" blends.
posted by drlith at 12:13 PM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

I love Peet's. I'm getting it from Costco because it comes out to $8 a lb for Major D's (it comes out to $18 if you order it directly from Peet's).

edit: for ground coffee, Costco has Alma de la Tierra for $8.66/lb
posted by extramundane at 12:20 PM on March 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Seconding Oyéah that you might want to try less Cafe Bustelo. Possibly way less. I was looking up instructions for Peet’s and it says to use 20 tbsps for a 60 fl oz pot. I use less than 4 tbsp for a full pot of cafe Bustelo. So not only is it already a cheap coffee, it’s so strong you can really stretch it.
posted by cali59 at 12:50 PM on March 10, 2022

I like Lavazza's Gran Selezione. The prices on the Lavazza website (https://www.lavazza.us/en_US/coffee/ground/gran-selezione.html) are a little cheaper than Peet's in-store price, but Lavazza seems to be perennially on sale for $6.99 at Stop & Shop here in the Northeast US.
posted by jrchaplin at 1:11 PM on March 10, 2022

Not at grocery stores but they ship: Lacas
posted by sepviva at 1:30 PM on March 10, 2022

I like Seattle's Best - Post Alley blend specifically. It's usually super cheap (not quite at Bustelo prices but way cheaper than Peets) and available everywhere, or it used to be anyway. Post Alley is a dark roast, which I prefer so I don't know much about their lighter roasts. Seattles Best has been weirdly harder to find these days but that might just be here, still, for $6 or so, I'd recommend giving it a try.

I used to mix Cafe Bustelo half and half with expensive coffee and that more or less worked as well.
posted by mygothlaundry at 2:15 PM on March 10, 2022

Response by poster: No Aldi or Safeway here, and Costco and TJ’s not close enough based on almost $5 a gallon for gas. I used to drink Chock Full O’Nuts way back before coffee became A Thing, so I’ll give it another try. Thanks all!
posted by scratch at 3:18 PM on March 10, 2022

Don't know if you're looking to avoid Starbucks because their coffee is terrible or other reasons, but they've owned Seattle's Best Coffee for a while.
posted by sevenless at 3:59 PM on March 10, 2022

Best answer: Another brand aiming at the same market as Bustelo and Pilón is El Pico, which I like better than either of the other two. If you can find it where you are it’s worth a try.
posted by LizardBreath at 6:26 PM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Would you consider a different coffee maker? If so, I’ve been drinking Bustelo brewed in a stovetop Bialetti for 23 years and will never switch back to anything else. I’ve had a cup of Peets only a couple of times, so cannot speak to the similarities or differences if that is your preferred flavor profile. But I do love my Bialetti+Bustelo combination more than most things in my life. Obviously, this requires an upfront investment in a Bialetti, but those things are indestructible (unless you forget to put water in the bottom chamber, in which case, look out).
posted by lassie at 6:30 PM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you need enough stuff from Target to meet the $35 free shipping minimum you can get Tim Horton’s for a bit cheaper than others. We use whole bean, so are more limited in our choices.
posted by Bunglegirl at 9:34 PM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

scratch , do you have a Shaws nearby? Because Shaws is owned by Albertsons as well, and they were trying to get all of the banners under Albertsons to carry the same brands. Good luck on the coffee search!
posted by annieb at 4:51 PM on March 11, 2022