Best coffee from Dunnes/Tesco

Jay P

I've gotten Illy from Tesco, and it's fantastic, I really like it, but it's a bit pricey. I usually try to go to Maher's in Cork, but it's not open in the evenings, which is generally when I'm free.
So is there any really nice coffee available in either places?

I've gotten Lavazza, and it's awful. I got the gold packet and literally threw it out after two cups, it was awful. I got the red one before, and it was ok, nothing special though. I don't really want to waste my money on the black one, so any other suggestions are really appreciated.

RE*AC*TOR

How are you brewing it?

Jay P

With a coffee press.

RE*AC*TOR

As always, freshly roasted and freshly ground is very markedly better than preground and stale.

I would advise buying a grinder and ordering coffee online from a top tier micro-roaster.

If you absolutely, positively have to buy preground supermarket coffee, then I would be more inclined to pick some of the ligher roasted coffees from the likes of Bewleys, Cafe Direct etc. I tried a few last year and found them surprisingly palatable (though quite muted in flavour compared to fresh roasted / fresh ground).

These coffees at least are roasted towards filter / press brewing, unlike the Italian coffees which are more orientated towards espresso / moka pot.

Jay P

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

As always, freshly roasted and freshly ground is very markedly better than preground and stale.

Oh I know it is, like I said I generally get my coffee in Maher's, which is freshly ground and is yummy. It's just not open at 6 o clock in the evening.

I would advise buying a grinder and ordering coffee online from a top tier micro-roaster.

I would do that, if I could afford the investment. I'll probably get a grinder over the summer.

If you absolutely, positively have to buy preground supermarket coffee, then I would be more inclined to pick some of the ligher roasted coffees from the likes of Bewleys, Cafe Direct etc. I tried a few last year and found them surprisingly palatable (though quite muted in flavour compared to fresh roasted / fresh ground).

These coffees at least are roasted towards filter / press brewing, unlike the Italian coffees which are more orientated towards espresso / moka pot.

What's the difference in the roasting? Sorry, I'm relatively new to the whole "real coffee" thing.

Als76

I agree lavazza is not a nice coffee. The bewleys coffee is fine out of tescos/dunnes. green bean is good but i dont think they sell it

RE*AC*TOR

Jay P wrote: »

Oh I know it is, like I said I generally get my coffee in Maher's, which is freshly ground and is yummy. It's just not open at 6 o clock in the evening.

I think I had coffee from Maher's once, didn't strike me as being particularly high quality either in terms of bean origin or roasting. Seemed more like commodity coffee roasted quite darkly.

Jay P wrote: »

What's the difference in the roasting? Sorry, I'm relatively new to the whole "real coffee" thing.

This is somewhat complicated, but generally coffee roasted for espresso is taken darker than that for filter/press (there can also be differences to the roast profiles beyond merely the degree of roast). The darker the roast, the less the coffee tastes of the coffee, and the more it just tastes of the roasting process. Delicate flavours are lost, acidity which many find really pleasing in filter coffee is also diminished etc.

eclectichoney

In Tesco I have noticed an increase in the availability of beans (nothing compared to freshly roasted mind, but when you're broke, needs must etc.!) They do the java Republic beans for about €4.30 and some cafe Direct organic ones for round the same price, as well as their own finest / standard range. And of course Starbucks for about €4.20 (the colombia (i think - or maybe it is espresso??) blend beans are not actually the worst - forgive me ) Dunnes are very disappointing in terms of coffee beans - do they even stock a single kind I wonder?

But If i could afford it all the time I'd go to hasbean or James Gourmet coffee tbh.

Slaphead07

eclectichoney wrote: »

But If i could afford it all the time I'd go to hasbean or James Gourmet coffee tbh.

Nick's Coffee Company do a 250gm bag of "sweet expresso" for €5. Seriously good. No I don't have shares in the company. http://www.nickscoffeecompany.com/FindUs.htm

eclectichoney

Slaphead07 wrote: »

Nick's Coffee Company do a 250gm bag of "sweet expresso" for €5. Seriously good. No I don't have shares in the company. http://www.nickscoffeecompany.com/FindUs.htm

Oh my, thanks for that, although I hope it's sweet espresso The sister lives in Rathmines so I might ask her to pick me some up - tis a good price!

Slaphead07

eclectichoney wrote: »

although I hope it's sweet espresso

Dear God. What sort of an eejit am I? In fairness I was tired.

Thoie

Slaphead07 wrote: »

Nick's Coffee Company do a 250gm bag of "sweet expresso" for €5. Seriously good. No I don't have shares in the company. http://www.nickscoffeecompany.com/FindUs.htm

Came across Nick (and more specifically, his coffee) at a market a while back, and have been meaning to go look for him again. Lovely varieties of coffee - I see a trip to Ranelagh this weekend.

MissHoneyBun

Jay P wrote: »

I've gotten Lavazza, and it's awful. I got the gold packet and literally threw it out after two cups, it was awful. I got the red one before, and it was ok, nothing special though.

:eek: Really? I got a recommendation on here ages ago for Lavazza when I could no longer source Starbucks grounds and I haven't looked back! You need to be quite careful how you store it though because it is prone to developing a bit of a.... taste or something if not stored in airtight containers in the fridge. Illy's better you say? Must give it a whirl

Jay P

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

:eek: Really? I got a recommendation on here ages ago for Lavazza when I could no longer source Starbucks grounds and I haven't looked back! You need to be quite careful how you store it though because it is prone to developing a bit of a.... taste or something if not stored in airtight containers in the fridge. Illy's better you say? Must give it a whirl

I had the red one a few times, and it's alright, nothing incredible.
And yeah, it was in the fridge, in the air-tight Illy container I have

Though my brother told me that the blue Lavazza is seriously good, it can only be gotten in cafés that use Lavazza coffee though, so it's hard to find, and is most likely fairly expensive.

Iolar Iontach

Another vote for Nick's Sweet Espresso. €15/kg is also a great price and they usually throw in a coffee at the stand!

MissHoneyBun

Okay so whoever recommended Bewley's here is in troubles.. I abandoned my trusty Lavazza to give the Bewley's a whirl and it was milder than a blasted Johnson's Baby Wipe!! Yeuch. Though it has illustrated that my tolerance for caffeine has reached worrying heights Anyway, back to the Bodum with Lavazza for moi..

nmesisca

Im italian and I like to think I know something about decent espresso..
Lavazza is a good quality coffee, IF stored properly.
Illy is considered to be the best, although its very expensive in Italy too.
If you can find it, you should try Kimbo.. more expensive than Illy and a stronger taste.
I wouldn't even dream of getting anything else other than those 3 I mentioned.
:eek:


LOL sorry I resurrected this. I just noticed now the date!

Mr Magnolia

I'm Irish; doesn't make me a Guinness connoisseur.

You should try some freshly roasted, freshly ground coffees from some of the suppliers linked on the main forum page.

nmesisca

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

I'm Irish; doesn't make me a Guinness connoisseur.

You should try some freshly roasted, freshly ground coffees from some of the suppliers linked on the main forum page.

at the rate of 4 espressos per day for the last 20 years, rest assured I have tried a wide variety and I still go back to those..

Gran Hermano

nmesisca wrote: »

at the rate of 4 espressos per day for the last 20 years, rest assured I have tried a wide variety and I still go back to those..

Quantity is not the same as quality. I used to to enjoy Lavazza and Illy some years back and I even had Italian friends who who would bring be back the varieties unavailable in Ireland. They are a poor offering compared to freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee.

The days of Italy leading the way on the coffee scene are past I'm afraid, not surprising if they think stale coffee is the best you can get.

RE*AC*TOR

A wino might consume a lot of alcohol, but I probably wouldn't ask him for a wine recommendation.

arabica69

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

A wino might consume a lot of alcohol, but I probably wouldn't ask him for a wine recommendation.

... now that all depends on your desired end result. :rolleyes:

donnacha

nmesisca wrote: »

at the rate of 4 espressos per day for the last 20 years, rest assured I have tried a wide variety and I still go back to those..

If you like those 4 espressos a day then I think you should follow Mr Magnolias suggestion - check the suppliers recommended here and try out some freshly roasted. Honestly you will be blown away. I for one can't believe that if you had of tried any of these that you would go back to stale, supermarket shelf brands.

sudzs

Usually go for Lavazza in the gold packaging. But in an emergency recently I had to use Lyons "coffee bags" and I kinda liked them...

SuperGrover

The best 'supermarket' preground I've had in ages I got from Superquinn and it was under €4...

Rombouts Ethiopian Moka Sidamo. It's in a black tin.

naasrd

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

I'm Irish; doesn't make me a Guinness connoisseur.

You should try some freshly roasted, freshly ground coffees from some of the suppliers linked on the main forum page.

A very naive analogy; the Italian drinking of espresso and the Irish intake of Guinness are poles part.

rokossovsky

naasrd wrote: »

A very naive analogy; the Italian drinking of espresso and the Irish intake of Guinness are poles part.

Ah cmon now leave the bl**din Poles out of this hand bag row over coffee. They only drink vodka and poiteen. Dont be muddying the waters ...lets get back to the real issues that keep us up at night.

Mod- Ill throw in my tuppence worth. Try Movenpick coffee, beans or pre ground. Delicious German coffee for a crazy price of €12 for 500g.

naasrd

That Broadway blend in Lidl is well worth a brew.

LimerickBishop

Can anyone recommend a decaf coffee? I use a krups filter machine. I use Robert Roberts but at over €4 for 227g, its a bit pricey. Any suggestions?