Australia might be known for being a lighthearted nation, but if there’s one thing we take seriously it’s our coffee. Sydney and Melbourne’s thriving cafe culture is frequently recognised on an international scale, but the entire country is known as a nation of coffee lovers. Our relationship with coffee extends well beyond the cafe doors, with many of us boasting home brewing setups that rival even the best cafes in town. Regardless of whether you favour a fully automatic machine, espresso machine, French press, pour-over, or moka pot, good quality beans are crucial for ensuring a good cup of coffee. If you ask for recommendations for the best coffee beans in Australia, you’ll invariably be hit with the ole “just go to your local roaster” line. And while that’s all fine and dandy for those surrounded by a surplus of roasters, it’s not sage advice for everyone.
Finding a trusted roaster takes time, effort, and can often result in drinking an inordinate amount of subpar coffee before you find one that pleases your tastebuds — and, for those living in rural locations (or even cities and suburbs without a thriving cafe culture), it’s often simply not possible. The best tasting coffee doesn’t necessarily come from beans sourced from a pot of gold at the bottom of a rainbow in the Amazon and sprinkled with unicorn dust before being roasted by a local artisan. Many of the best coffee beans in Australia are available online and in supermarkets. In addition to being easy to get your hands on, they’re often more cost effective and consistent than beans from smaller roasters.
With that in mind, we trialled some of the most popular coffee beans in Australia, undergoing caffeine-induced jitters and headaches and many sleepless nights in order to find the best — thank us later. All of these beans are available online, with many also available in supermarkets around the country.
How we tested the coffee beans on this list
We undertook a rigorous testing process to find the best coffee beans in Australia. We tested all of the coffee beans on this list in a fully automatic espresso coffee machine. Coffee beans were first tested as an espresso, and then in a milk-based coffee (always a cafè latte, and then sometimes a cortado or flat white), and then as an Americano. Our reviews are based on the suitability for each bag of coffee beans for both black and milk-based (we used plant milks for this — predominantly soy, oat, and almond) coffees.
The best coffee beans in Australia in 2025
We rated these coffee beans based on their aroma, flavour notes, and body. We’ve also shared the types of coffees (i.e. milk or black) we found them best suited to.
1. Lavazza Refined Milano
What they say: Lavazza claims Refined Milano is “full bodied with a delicate flavour” and has “notes of honey and dried fruit” on the palate.
What we think: the pleasing aroma of sweet honey, fruity, and a subtle floral note was present as soon as we opened the bag and remained throughout the brewing process. The gentle notes of sweet honey and orange with a mild fruity taste was consistent in every sip. We found Lavazza Refined Milano was light bodied but had a sweet finish with a lingering delicate aftertaste. It made a smooth espresso with just a hint of pleasurable bitterness and also worked well in coffee with milk, however we found the latter to be a touch less strong than we would have liked. The light bodied nature of Lavazza Refined Milano meant that it was too diluted in an Americano, however it was good as a long black.
Price: $58AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Coles and Woolworths
Origin: Brazil (100% arabica blend)
Flavour notes: honey, dried fruit
Roast: light
Best for: espresso or long back — particularly for those who prefer a slightly lighter, more delicate coffee
Repurchase? Yes
2. Will & Co Eight-o-Eight
What they say: Will & Co tells coffee aficionados to expect a “full body and crisp acidity that is expertly balanced,” with notes “sweet chocolate and hazelnuts before a silky smooth caramel finish.”
What we think: the aroma of the coffee beans was rather mild and we went through quite a few espressos before we could detect even a hint of the sweet nutty chocolate aroma that was claimed by many of the reviews we had come across about Will & Co Eight-o-Eight.
The nutty and bittersweet dark chocolate favour note was felt, albeit mildly. Whilst the acidity seemed to be on the low side, the medium bodied Eight-o-Eight could be enjoyed by those who prefer their morning coffee sans punchiness. The finish was soft and had body, but did not last long on the palate. We preferred Will & Co Eight-o-Eight coffee black over with milk.
Price: $59AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: online only
Origin: Brazil, Guatemala
Flavour notes: caramel, hazelnut, and chocolate
Roast: medium dark
Best for: espresso or Americano
Repurchase? Yes
3. Vittoria Mountain Grown
What they say: Vittoria calls this one of their premium blends, promising that this is a “a full-strength coffee with a full rich flavour and a delicate finish.” The brand says that the 100% arabica blend “gives a fine espresso taste whether served as an espresso or with milk.”
What we think: straight out of the bag, Vittoria Mountain Grown does indeed look dark roasted. The aroma was relatively mild, with a faint nuttiness on the nose. When drunk as an espresso, we found it had mild chocolate notes with a slightly spicy aftertaste, however the other notes claimed weren’t felt. Both as an espresso and a latte, Vittoria Mountain Grown was strong, rich, and smooth with medium acidity that lingered in the mouth (however, the acidity was more subtle when consumed with milk). A decidedly no-nonsense blend, Vittoria Mountain Grown doesn’t disappoint in delivering the lasting effect of caffeine that one would expect from a strong, rich coffee — while it wasn’t overly nuanced, we found it a consistent go-to for our first coffee of the day.
Price: $49AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Coles and Woolworths
Origin: Central and South America
Flavour notes: caramel, dark chocolate, smokey, toasty
Roast: dark
Best for: espresso, Americano, and with milk
Repurchase? Yes
4. Piazza D’oro Espresso Colombian
What they say: Piazza d’Oro claims that Espresso Colombian delivers “smooth caramel and toffee flavours with hints of citrus which give it that little bit of sparkle.”
What we think: upon opening the bag, there’s a definite sweet toffee aroma. When the brew was coming out of the coffee machine, the sweet caramel toffee aroma was more pronounced and filled the room. It has a medium body with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel that lingers on the palate. It also retains the toffee sweetness with a tartness that adds nuance. The tartness is strong and lingering when drunk black but doesn’t leave your mouth dry. However, it mellows slightly when consumed as a latte, flat white, or cortado. Both the taste and jolt of caffeine are perfect, and we found the aroma of Piazza D’oro Espresso Colombian lingered the longest of the bunch.
Price: $50AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: online only
Origin: Colombia (100% single origin arabica)
Flavour notes: caramel, toffee, citrus
Roast: medium
Best for: espresso, Americano, and with milk
Repurchase? Yes
5. Will & Co Natural Coffee Beans
What they say: Will & Co call this “a beautifully developed medium-dark roast of naturally processed coffees, she’s a real crowd pleaser. Suited towards milk-based coffees, but also great as a black.”
What we think: Well, what can we say? With its aesthetically pleasing light blue packaging, cute typeface, and conversational marketing gaff, we had high hopes for Will & Co Natural Coffee Beans. Despite promising notes of caramelised almonds, dark chocolate, and hazelnut, we were unable to detect any aroma other than a stock standard ‘coffee’ smell. Like akin to what you’d get by shoving your honker into a jar of Morconna.
When consumed black (both as an espresso and an Americano), the coffee was very thin with barely any body or acidity to it, however there was a slightly bitter and acrid aftertaste. We tried this one several times and eventually were able to detect a faint smokey nutty aroma, however it went by in an instant. In milk-based coffees, we found the milk completely overpowered the coffee. Unfortunately, we would have to give this one a miss.
Price: $55AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Woolworths
Origin: Central and South America
Flavour notes: caramelised almond, dark chocolate, hazelnut
Roast: medium dark
Best for: did not hit the mark for us either as espresso or with milk
Repurchase? No
6. Grinders Crema
What they say: Grinders say that the initial aroma of Crema is “a combination of nutty and fruity,” with flavour notes of cocoa, malt, and honey that deliver a mild sweetness. “Combined with a balanced body and acidity, the resulting after-taste is silky and creamy.”
What we think: Grinders Crema initially had a sweet chocolate aroma which gently lingered in the air. The coffee was strong and moderately creamy, and felt full in the mouth with soft notes of cocoa and honey. There was a sharp acidity, with a pleasant aftertaste and without a dry mouth feel. The brewed espresso looked dark with a good crema on top and was strong as a morning coffee (it also came in clutch before a road trip). All in all it tasted close to its claim in terms of its balanced body and acidity.
Price: $35AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Woolworths and Coles
Origin: Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Peru (100% rainforest alliance arabica blend)
Flavour notes: cocoa, honey
Roast: medium roast
Best for: espresso
Repurchase? Yes
7. Lavazza Alluring Napoli
What they say: Lavazza calls Alluring Napoli a “a superior blend composed of Brazilian Arabica and prestigious Robusta Conillon, distinguished by the intensity of a long roast and notes of toasted cereals and caramel.”
What we think: upon opening the pack, the aroma of Lavazza Alluring Napoli was intense and lingered in the air long after we’d had our last sip — there were subtle notes of sweet caramel and intense notes of cocoa bean.
The look of the espresso was dark and rich with a dense crema, while the velvety and syrupy texture was befitting of a dark roasted coffee. It looked similar to what you would receive from a hole-in-the-wall standing only cafe in Italy. The mouthfeel matched the look of the coffee in its richness and creaminess, the acidity was well balanced in sharpness and sweetness, and it gave a full rounded mouthfeel. The flavour notes were intense and the creamy, slightly oily feel lingered in the mouth long after each sip. Lavazza Alluring Napoli was great as a first cup of strong espresso to get the day started and the effect of caffeine stayed long (although that didn’t stop us from consuming several follow up coffees just to be sure!).
Adding plant-based milk brought out the sweetness yet mostly maintained the strength of the coffee. The best thing about Lavazza Alluring Napoli was that the aroma gently lingered in the kitchen long after the coffee was consumed.
Price: $58AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Woolworths and Coles
Origin: Central and South America, South East Asia, Africa (40% arabica and 60% robusta)
Flavour notes: cocoa, caramel
Roast: dark roast
Best for: espresso, long black, and with milk
Repurchase? Yes
8. Vittoria Latte Coffee Beans
What they say: Vittoria says that this medium-dark roast is composed of 100% arabica beans and “has been specifically blended to drink with milk.”
What we think: as the Vittoria latte pack was opened, the aroma was quite sharp and intense coffee bean and the appearance was that of a slightly oily medium roast. We tried Vittoria Latte Coffee Beans with both soy and almond milk. When made as a latte or flat white, there were gentle sweet caramel notes on the nose, with similar notes on the palate upon tasting. The caramel toffee aroma and flavour worked well with the natural sweetness of almond milk, however using soy milk added a welcome creaminess into the mix.
As both a latte and flat white, the creamy look and taste was comparable to lattes you’d get in a good cafe. Vittoria claims its Latte Coffee Beans have been specifically blended for latte drinkers and it lives up to that. We also tried Vittoria Latte Coffee Beans as an espresso — the delectable aroma remained and the coffee was dark and strong, however we found it altogether too bitter to drink black. With that in mind, we recommend reserving these beans for milk-based coffees, as they’re intended.
Price: $40AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Woolworths and Coles
Origin: Central and South America (100% arabica blend)
Flavour notes: milk chocolate, caramel, toffee
Roast: medium-dark roast
Best for: latte or other milk-based coffees
Repurchase? Yes
9. Lone Crow Espresso Roast
What they say: Lone Crow says this blend of South American arabica beans and Africa robusta beans delivers the perfect crema, while “a leisurely roasting process results in rich strong flavours of cocoa, dark chocolate, and dark fruits, finished with a silky aftertaste.”
What we think: upon opening the packet, the Espresso Roast coffee beans by Indigenous-owned brand Lone Crow had delicate, pleasant sweet notes which remained throughout the brewing process. The sweetness on the nose was rather mild and the team had a bit of back and forth debate on the strength of the aroma. When coming out of the fully automatic coffee machine, we noticed the espresso pulled satisfyingly dark with a good amount of crema. When sipped, a rich bitterness was the first taste to hit the palate, which swiftly turns into a soft sweetness without leaving any bitter aftertaste behind. We all agreed that the word that came to mind to describe the aftertaste was ‘clean’. Delivering a rich, full-bodied, velvet taste with just the right amount of bitterness (and very little to no acidity), this was one of our favourite blends to enjoy as an espresso. We also tried Lone Crow Espresso Roast as a cafè latte on soy and oat milk, with both working to bring out the sweetness of the coffee.
Price: $28AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Woolworths
Origin: Central South America and Africa (arabica and robusta)
Flavour notes: dark chocolate, dark fruits, treacle, cocoa
Roast: dark roast
Best as: espresso and milk based
Repurchase? Yes
Editor’s note: the Lone Crow Espresso Roast is exclusively available through Woolworths, with the brand’s webstore selling premium medium and dark roasts.
10. L’or Colombia
What they say: L’Or claims these medium roast beans boast “bold and delicate coffee tastes,” with flavour notes described as complex, sweet, and fruity with a hint of citrus. “A full-bodied espresso with a complex and tangy character that lingers.”
What we think: these coffee beans were undoubtedly the most divisive in the office, with one seemingly commonplace Thursday morning completely derailed by vigorous debate about both the aroma and taste of L’or Colombia. Upon first whiff, there was a distinct chilli note emanating from the beans — so strong that the coffee itself was difficult to smell. We tried these coffee beans over the span of a working week, and the aroma seemed to open up and develop over this time; frankly getting odder (and oddly, more alluring) as the days went by. Between the team, notes of curry leaves and betel leaves were both cited, making for a rather anomalous coffee drinking experience. While being brewed, the strong chilli and complex spice aroma remained, however upon tasting, the coffee had a medium body and slightly watery mouthfeel. There was a strong acidity tinged with astringency that may read as bitterness, with this pronounced acidity lingering on the palate without evolving into any other flavours. The acidic citrus notes stay on the palate and are potentially enjoyable for those who prefer their coffee with a bit of a zing to it, however we found that the coffee didn’t have a strong enough body or well rounded mouthfeel to back this up.
When we made L’Or Colombia coffee beans as a milk-based coffee (we tried them in both a cafè latte, flat white, and cortado) using oat and almond milk, the consensus was that the addition of milk increased the palatability (even for those who aren’t generally partial to acidic coffee) of the coffee, but didn’t bring out any other flavour notes.
Price: $52AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Coles
Origin: Colombia (100% arabica blend)
Flavour notes: sweet, fruity, citrus
Roast: medium roast
Best for: we preferred milk based as to us it tasted highly acidic when consumer black (as espresso, Americano, and long black)
Repurchase? No — although it may appeal to those with a penchant for acidity
11. DC Coffee The Darkness
What they say: DC Coffee says this blend “celebrates a heavy, syrupy body, making it the perfect choice for a hard-hitting espresso with a full flavour of vanilla, almond and dark chocolate.”
What we think: the nutty aroma of the coffee was quite mild alongside a dark roasted coffee smell. When brewed, The Darkness had a fair amount of crema and medium to full body. While the faintest hint of bitterness was perceptible at first, it did not linger, and the rich, syrupy mouthfeel took over. The aftertaste was pleasant, just that of a dark coffee without any bitterness. The Darkness is best described as, well, dark. Brewed as an espresso, it’s a strong, no-nonsense coffee that lives up to its claim of delivering a jolt of high-voltage energy to kickstart your day.
If you’re the type of person who’s content to have one espresso a day and just get on with it (can’t relate!), The Darkness is a pretty safe bet. We preferred it black as an espresso, but it also tasted pleasant (although not particularly memorable) when consumed with almond or oat milk as a cafè latte or flat white. As an aside, the mildly morbid punk rock packaging by Kiwi illustrator Half Price Hancock is pretty cool too, and makes The Darkness stand out from the hordes of beans on the supermarket shelf.
Price: $40AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Coles
Origin: Mzuri Tanzania, Palo Alto Colombia, Robusta India
Flavour notes: dark chocolate, vanilla, almond
Roast: medium to dark roast
Best as: espresso
Repurchase? Yes
Editor’s note: The Darkness is solely available in 250g bags at Coles, however it’s also sold in 1kg bags via the brand’s webstore.
12. Aldi Lazzio Medium 100% Arabica Coffee Beans
What they say: Aldi keeps it short and sweet on the copywriting front, but manages to make a pretty bold claim nonetheless, promising potential imbibers that “[their] blend has all the richness and character you expect to find in your local cafe.”
What we think: we approached Aldi’s coffee bean offerings with a sense of trepidation. These have been one of the most hyped supermarket coffee beans, having racked up a slew of consumer awards and garnered more than a few recommendations from users online. Representing our first foray out of coffee bean offerings at the big two supermarkets—Coles and Woolworths—Aldi’s Lazzio brand also offers the lowest cost-per-kilogram price of all the coffee beans we’ve trialled thus far. With that in mind, we wanted to like them. If only to vindicate the opinions of frugal Redditors.
Cracking open the packet, the beans had a sweet, spicy smell with faint notes of chocolate, popcorn, and chilli. As we brewed Aldi Lazzio Medium 100% Arabica Coffee Beans, we noticed a sweet toffee smell emanating from the cup which lingered for a fair amount of time and were impressed by the tawny smooth crema. The espresso held a medium to full body with a smooth, dense mouthfeel which gave it a certain fullness on the tongue. Mild sweetness combined with a slight acidity made Aldi Lazzio Medium 100% Arabica Coffee Beans a pleasant sipper for any time of the day. Interestingly, although the toffee smell was evident throughout, we found that Aldi Lazzio Medium 100% Arabica Coffee Beans didn’t specifically lean towards a nuanced taste palette, but were simply palatable.
This is best suited to black coffee drinkers in search of the perfect balance between strong and delicate — a Goldilocks coffee, if you will. Its substantial body and lack of bitter aftertaste makes it a pleasant—if somewhat middle of the road—coffee. It was decent with plant-based milk as a latte or flat white, however the strength of the coffee is significantly diluted with the addition of milk and the lack of a nuanced flavour palate is more evident here.
An easily accessible supermarket coffee at a reasonable price point, Aldi Lazzio Medium 100% Arabica Coffee Beans is a convincing everyday coffee to have in the pantry — at least as a backup option.
Price: $16AUD/kg
Supermarket availability: Aldi (in-store only)
Origin: Unspecified (100% single origin Arabica beans)
Flavour notes: rich toffee, tropical fruits, malt
Roast: medium
Best for: espresso or long black
Repurchase? Yes
Do supermarket coffee beans display a roast date?
Unfortunately, most supermarket coffee beans do not display their roast date. However, the best before date is typically exactly 12 months (although some brands stretch this to 24 months) after the roast date. Hence, it’s possible to ascertain the roast date using the best before date — for example, coffee beans with a best before date of 10th January 2026 were likely roasted on the 10th January 2025. Coffee beans are best consumed one to three weeks after roasting, however with proper storage can be consumed up to six to eight weeks after roasting. With that in mind, we’d aim to look for beans with a best before date more than ten to 11 months from the time of purchase (meaning the beans would have been roasted less than two months ago).
Words by Esmé Duggan
Feature image courtesy of Matteo Capirola
