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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Words by Esmé Duggan
Feature image courtesy of Matteo Capirola
