Espresso Beans 101: Everything You Need to Know and the Best Espresso Beans to Buy

I remember entering a coffee roaster for the first time and getting overwhelmed by the bean choices. The roaster asked, did I want it lightly roasted or medium? Arabica or robusta? Are you drinking it at home? I looked at him like he had just given me a math problem. I realized that this wasn’t one of those occasions I could pretend I knew what I was doing and come out a legend. Instead, this will be the moment they would know I’m a regular person; I love drinking coffee, but I don’t speak coffee; if you know what I mean.

If you ever felt the same way, obviously, you’re not alone. And if you’re here, congratulations, you’ve taken the first step to learning about espresso beans. I’ve scoured the net for this and even found the best espresso beans to buy. So let’s go ahead and learn something new today, shall we?

Are espresso beans different from coffee beans?

This is a bit tricky to explain, but I will do my best. Espresso and coffee beans are essentially the same; they come from the seeds of the Coffea plant used for making coffee. The term “espresso beans is” used more for the benefit of the roaster so they’ll know how they will roast the beans. So if you want to make espresso shots, not regular coffee, then you need to ask them to give you espresso beans.

The difference between regular coffee grind and espresso grind is in the purpose and roasting procedure. For espresso grind, beans are roasted longer and finer, which is best for extracting espresso shots with an espresso machine or an Aeropress. On the other hand, coffee beans are roasted lightly and faster for drip coffee.

What kind of coffee beans for espresso?

The best coffee beans to use for espresso are dark roast whole beans, as they have a rich flavor.

Can you use any beans for espresso?

You can use all coffee beans, regardless of origin and variety, to make espresso, but you need to roast the beans longer or get a medium-dark roast bean for the full-bodied flavor. If you’re in a coffee roaster, you should specify this to the roaster so they can grind the beans for this purpose.

Is eating espresso beans like drinking coffee?

Some people like eating chocolate-covered coffee beans, not me, but I don’t judge. So there’s the question, is eating coffee beans the same as drinking coffee? If we’re referring to the caffeine content, then yes, eating espresso beans can give you the same benefit as drinking coffee. A piece of arabica coffee bean has 2ml of caffeine, so a serving of coffee beans (11 espresso beans) has the same effect as drinking two cups of coffee; so go easy on those chocolate-covered beans.

25 best espresso beans to buy

We’ve listed our top picks for the best espresso beans.

#1 Volcanica Tanzania Peaberry Coffee, Mount Kilimanjaro, Whole Bean ($18.99)

Volcanica Gourmet Coffee is a family-owned coffee roaster specializing in coffee from the volcanic regions in the world. This whole beans coffee came from Mount Kilimanjaro in Moshi, Tanzania. You will love Tanzania Peaberry Coffee if you prefer sweet, acidic, rich body, and intense-flavored coffee with some winy overtones.

#2 San Francisco Bay Coffee Fog Chaser Whole Bean ($21.99)

San Francisco Bay Coffee is an American coffee roaster founded by a married couple, Jon and Barbara Rogers, in 1979. This medium dark roast whole bean coffee is one of their products. It’s made of 100% arabica, certified kosher, and is available in whole bean or ground. Aside from Fog Chaser, other flavors include Breakfast Blend, Colombian Supremo, Decaf Espresso Roast, Decaf Espresso Roast, Decaf Gourmet Blend, Espresso, Extra Dark Italian, French Roast, Hawaiian Blend, Hazelnut Creme, Moka Java, Organic Rainforest Blend, and Scandinavian Blend.

#3 Tim Hortons Whole Bean Original ($7.24)

Tim Hortons is the largest multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain in Canada. And if you are a fan of their coffee, you’ll be happy to know you can make your favorite Tim Hortons coffee at home with this whole-bean roast. It’s made with 100% arabica, with a perfectly balanced and smooth flavor that you will definitely enjoy.

#4 Lavazza Top Class Whole Bean Coffee ($147.13)

From Lavazza, a well-known, century-old Italian coffee manufacturer, this whole-bean coffee is made from hand-picked arabica beans from Central and South America, blended with robusta. It has tasting notes of dark chocolate and cinnamon. This is a good choice if you prefer a blend of arabica and robusta and a full-bodied coffee that is a little bit sweet.

#5 illy Classico Whole Bean Coffee ($105.99)

illy is a family-owned Italian coffee company. Its coffee products are among the best in the market, so you’ll surely get high-quality coffee. This medium roast, the whole bean, has caramel, orange, blossom, and jasmine notes. Get this if you like fruity notes.

#6 Stumptown Coffee Roasters Organic Whole Bean ($24.69)

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is an American coffee retailer owned by Peet’s Coffee. Holler Mountain whole bean is one of their signature blends, with creamy caramel and hazelnut-tasting notes. This whole bean is certified organic and available in 12 and 18 ounces.

#7 Peet’s Coffee Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee ($32.95)

Peet’s Coffee is an American specialty coffee roaster founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet. They produce dark and medium roast whole bean coffee in three variants: Major Dickanson’s Blend, Espresso Forte, and Alameda Morning Blend (organic). It’s made with 100% arabica coffee, so you will love this brand if you enjoy fresh, bold coffee.

#8 Copper Moon Whole Bean Coffee ($22)

Copper Moon Coffee is an American coffee roaster owned by two brothers, Brad, and Cary Gutwein. This whole bean, medium roast is made with 100% arabica. It’s an organic coffee; you will love it if you enjoy strong and smooth coffee.

#9 Kicking Horse Coffee, Three Sisters, Whole Bean ($51.02)

Kicking Horse Company is a Canadian coffee company. This whole bean is medium-roasted and sourced from Central and South America. It has well-rounded tasting notes of sweet tobacco, stone fruit, and cocoa. It’s also USDA Organic certified. This will be your new favorite if you like good, strong coffee with no bitter aftertaste.

#10 Death Wish Coffee Whole Bean Coffee Dark Roast ($29.99)

Death Wish Coffee is an American brand that sells coffee online and in grocery stores across the USA. It was founded in 2012 by Mike Brown. This dark roast whole bean is organic and fair trade. It uses a blend of arabica and robusta, delivering smooth and robust flavors. If you prefer highly-caffeinated coffee, this is the brand you should go for. Death Wish Coffee claims to produce the world’s strongest coffee, with two to four times more caffeine than regular coffee.

#11 Jim’s Organic Coffee ($69.99)

Jim’s Organic Coffee is the world’s first all-organic coffee roaster based in the US. It was founded in 1996 by Jim Cannell, a former Wall Street broker. This whole bean is 100% arabica sourced from Santa Marta Montesierra, in the northeast side of Colombia. It’s a medium roast with deep, rich milk chocolate and berry tasting notes.

#12 Koffee Kult Whole Bean Thunder Bolt ($40)

Koffee Kult is an American family-owned coffee roaster founded in 2010. It acquires 100% arabica coffee beans from more than 50 countries. Thunder Bolt is a dark roast, whole bean with earthy, molasses, and smoky flavor notes. The bean varieties came from Colombia and Brazil. Other whole bean flavors available are Colombia, Dark Roast, Decaf Colombia, Eye Cracker, Kenya, La Rosa – Costa Rica, Medium Roast, Road Dog, Sumatra Madheling, and Brazil.

#13 Seattle’s Best Coffee Portside Blend Medium Roast ($17)

Seattle’s Best Coffee is an American wholesale coffee company founded in 1969. The Portside Blend is a medium roast of 100% arabica beans from Latin America. It’s full-bodied and smooth but not as strong as most whole-bean coffee. This flavor is also available in ground and K-cups.

#14 Intelligentsia Coffee Light Roast Whole Bean Coffee ($23.14)

Intelligentsia Coffee is a coffee roaster and supplier from the US founded in 1955. If you prefer light roast whole beans, this is a good choice for you. The House Blend has tasting notes of citrus, apple, and milk chocolate. Other variants include El Diablo and El Gallo Organic Breakfast Blend.

#15 Subtle Earth Organic Coffee ($31.75)

This organic whole-bean coffee is produced by Don Pablo, an American coffee grower, and roaster founded in 1989. The 100% arabica beans were sourced from Marcala in Honduras and are non-GMO with low acidity. With this whole bean, you will enjoy tasting notes of smooth milk chocolate, honey, caramel, and cocoa.

#16 Mayorga Dark Roast Coffee ($25.89)

Mayorga is a family-owned coffee company founded by a Nicaraguan, Martin Mayorga, in 1997. They produce specialty-grade coffee sourced from Peru, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This whole bean is made from 100% arabica and goes through a slow-roasting process in small batches. Also, it’s USDA Organic certified and non-GMO. The coffee has a Cuban-style flavor profile with hints of vanilla, sweet, and syrupy smokiness.

#17 Starbucks French Roast ($29.70)

Starbucks, the most popular coffee chain in the world, also produces some of the best-tasting coffee beans in the market. One of its bestsellers is French Roast, made with 100% arabica. It’s a dark roast with notes of dark caramel and sweet smoke. With this whole bean, you can replicate your favorite Starbucks drink at home.

#18 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters Old School Espresso Whole Beans ($17.99)

49th Parallel is a specialty coffee roaster based in Canada. The company was founded in 2004. Old School Espresso is a medium-dark roast with full-bodied flavor but low acidity. The tasting notes include sweet caramel, nuts, and rich dark chocolate.

#19 Fresh Roasted Coffee, FRC Dark Roast Blend ($22.99)

Fresh Roasted Coffee is a coffee roaster based in the US. The company received certifications from USDA Organic, OU Kosher, Swiss Water, and Royal Water. This means you can be assured that their coffee is free from GMOs and other harmful chemicals. This dark roast blend is made from 100% arabica. It has strong, toasty flavors but is not bitter.

#20 Barrie House Indonesian Sumatra Whole Bean Coffee ($23.99)

Barrie House Coffee is a roaster founded in 1934 in New York, USA. This medium roast is made from 100% Arabica, sourced from Sumatra, Indonesia. with tasting notes of syrupy, dark chocolate, raisins, earthy aroma, and spicy. This whole bean is organic with bold aromatic flavors that you will truly appreciate.

#21 Natural Force – Organic Clean Coffee Classic ($27.99)

Two friends, Joe Rakoski, and Justin Quinn founded Natural Force in 2009. It manufactures natural, healthy products such as coffee, whey, MCT oil, tea, etc. Clean Coffee is one of its best products, a range of ground and whole bean coffee products made from organically grown arabica. You will like this whole bean if you want to get more out of your coffee. It’s free from toxins and other harmful elements like fungus, mycotoxins, and heavy metals. It has high antioxidants contents, is USDA Organic certified, and is keto, paleo, and vegan friendly.

#22 Cameron’s Coffee Roasted Whole Bean Coffee ($25.90)

Cameron’s Coffee is an American coffee roaster founded in 1978. Breakfast Blend is one of its products, a bright and fruity, light roast perfect for your daily morning coffee.

#23 Gevalia Traditional Roast Whole Bean Coffee ($20.60)

Established in 1853, Gevalia is a Swedish coffee company. This whole bean carries the Swedish heritage, employing the Swedish method of slow roasting and snap-cooling coffee beans. This mild roast is made with 100% Arabica, is full-bodied, smooth, and has no burnt taste.

#24 Green Coffee Traders Hawaiian Kona Coffee Beans ($40)

Green Coffee Traders is based in Canada, specializing in sourcing green coffee from different parts of the world and bringing them to their North American consumers. Founded in 1993, they have warehouses in the US and Canada. This is one of their bestselling products, and it’s made with 100% Arabica and sourced from Hawaii.

#25 Eight O’Clock Coffee The Original Whole Bean Coffee ($70)

Founded in 1859, Eight O’Clock Coffee is an American coffee manufacturer. The Original is its oldest recipe and most popular roast. It’s made with 100% arabica beans, with well-balanced, sweet, and fruity flavors.

How to grind espresso beans at home?

While it’s easier just to buy ground coffee, grinding beans is the way to go if you want to enjoy fresh coffee every time. The more they are exposed to air, the more ground coffee loses its flavor. Whereas, if you roast espresso beans, you get to enjoy the full flavor and have more control over how your coffee will taste and the caffeine level based on your preferred roasting method.

Now that you know the basics about espresso beans and which ones to buy, it’s time to learn how to grind them at home.

The method will depend on the type of grinders you have at home. There are automatic grinders (blade, burr, and conical burr) and hand or manual grinders.

How to grind espresso beans with an automatic grinder

Follow the steps below if you have a blade or burr conical grinder:

Step 1

Add the whole beans to the grinder. Only grind beans you will use immediately to ensure you make fresh coffee each time.

Step 2

Choose the grind size setting: extra coarse, coarse, medium coarse, medium, fine, and extra fine.

Step 3

Select the coffee dose.

Step 4

Push the button to start grinding the beans.

Step 5

Transfer your freshly ground coffee from the grounds jar into another container.

How to grind espresso beans with a manual grinder

Follow the steps below if you have a manual or hand grinder:

Step 1

Remove the top nut.

Step 2

Add your desired amount of coffee beans to the hopper.

Step 3

Secure the top nut over the hopper.

Step 4

Adjust the burr; turn it counter-clockwise to create a coarser grind or clockwise to make a finer grind.

Step 5

Seal the ground jar.

Step 6

Place the lever on the top nut and turn it clockwise.

Step 7

Transfer your freshly ground coffee from the grounds jar into another container.