Café bon marché

October 7, 2024 2:55 AM

Europe-dwellers: which WHOLE BEAN coffee available in online or physical stores for home prep is the best bang for the buck?

I live near Granada in Andalucia, and I like to brew decent coffee at home with a French press. I have a small spice grinder that serves me very well, so I can buy whole bean coffee.

Sadly, the supermarkets here in Spain are full of Nestle coffee products, including whole bean coffees with cutesy brand names. I don't buy anything Nestle.

In contrast, there are wonderful importers and roasters here in Granada, but their wares don't come cheap.

What I'd love to find:

* Good Arabica-only whole bean coffee
* Any roast is OK, although I do prefer light roast
* 13-14 euro / kilogram price point, or lower
* Easy online availability, low shipping costs. Amazon is OK for now but I'd like to move away from it.
* Alternatively: availability in Aldi or Lidl

posted by rabia.elizabeth to Food & Drink (3 answers total)

Douwe Egberts and Lavazza are both widely available in Europe, not terribly expensive, and not owned by Nestle.
posted by Ardnamurchan at 7:10 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I was also thinking Douwe Egberts, if you can get it in Spain. Here's their Dutch range of whole beans (in Dutch, sorry). "Aroma Rood" is mixed Arabica / Robusta, and they don't specify for some of the others, but "Verfijnd", "Excellent Gold", "Excellent Black" and "Excellent Blonde" are all 100% Arabica.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:39 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]

Costco beans are good value.
posted by StephenB at 10:26 AM on October 7