Cheap and Cheerful Bean Recommendations

breeno · 31-05-2020 1:43pm #1

Hi Guys

Any good recommendations for cheap and Cheerful beans? New to coffee beans and I'm loving the fresh stuff from Bell Lane like Supernova and Cloud Picker Sam but it's pricy enough when working from home and having a few cups a day! I'd love to find a good solid cheap bean to supplement the fresh stuff. Tried Lavazza Rossa and found it a bit bland, I like a strong cup.

A few people online recommended Aldi Italian 4 blend which is surprisingly nice but it's an oily bean and I've been warned that oily beans aren't good for a bean to cup machine.

Hoping such a bean exists! Thanks.

Squidgy Black · 31-05-2020 3:06pm

Ponaire, their blends are 6.50 for 250g or 22 for 1kg, free shipping for over 500g too. The best middle ground you'll find between supermarket beans and top shelf single origins, but still freshly roasted and a decent blend in itself.

alec76 · 31-05-2020 5:25pm

I think I’ve only paid €24.50 delivered for 1kg Bell Lane beans last time.
€22 for Ponaire beans hardly a bargain....
Tried this one
https://velocoffee.ie/collections/coffee-beans/products/bmx
€3.99 in Aldi .... Definitely worth trying.....If you fancy Brazilian/Colombian beans in general.

caviardreams · 31-05-2020 6:39pm

alec76 wrote: »

I think I’ve only paid €24.50 delivered for 1kg Bell Lane beans last time.
€22 for Ponaire beans hardly a bargain....
Tried this one
https://velocoffee.ie/collections/coffee-beans/products/bmx
€3.99 in Aldi .... Definitely worth trying.....If you fancy Brazilian/Colombian beans in general.

I know somebody is going to give out to me for pointing this out but that Velo stuff in Aldi is only 200g - so €20 per kg - not much less than Ponaire/Bell Lane & the OP seems to be looking for a much cheaper price point.

I have found the Zambia beans in the brown bag in LIDL for 2.29 not the worst and drinkable when I tried them if you fancy a punt!

breeno · 31-05-2020 6:48pm

caviardreams wrote: »

I know somebody is going to give out to me for pointing this out but that Velo stuff in Aldi is only 200g - so €20 per kg - not much less than Ponaire/Bell Lane & the OP seems to be looking for a much cheaper price point.

I have found the Zambia beans in the brown bag in LIDL for 2.29 not the worst and drinkable when I tried them if you fancy a punt!

Interesting. That's the kind of price range i was hoping for! Not expecting miracles. Are they dark oily beans? Hoping to avoid those.

alec76 · 31-05-2020 6:59pm

caviardreams wrote: »

so €20 per kg - not much less than Ponaire/Bell Lane & the OP seems to be looking for a much cheaper price point.

I wouldn’t compare Ponaire vs Bell Lane, as i think they are different leagues roasters, but €20 for the kilo not very cheap, hard to argue....

caviardreams · 31-05-2020 7:57pm

alec76 wrote: »

I wouldn’t compare Ponaire vs Bell Lane, as i think they are different leagues roasters, but €20 for the kilo not very cheap, hard to argue....

Oh totally - I think Bell Lane are a super price point for the equality. I was just noting that the OP wanted an option a lot cheaper than this if I interpreted correctly.

dball · 31-05-2020 8:22pm

i haven't gone down the road of Ponaire, Belllane and all the rest of them yet.
I cant seem to justify the spend since buying a b2c mahine i notice that I (we at home) are going through about 1kg every 2 weeks..

From previous uses of moka pots and an Lidl espresso mach from years ago, I always enjoyed a Lavazza.
I started buying a few different types of Lavazza online - mainly from Amazon but also form Discountcoffee.ie

I also chanced one of there owb blwnds - temple bar. https://www.discountcoffee.ie/temple-bar-espresso-coffee-beans-1kg

And at 8.99 KG, I have started to buy it instead of my old friend Lavazza,
they have a number of the Lavazza options too at reasonable prices,

breeno · 31-05-2020 9:11pm

caviardreams wrote: »

Oh totally - I think Bell Lane are a super price point for the equality. I was just noting that the OP wanted an option a lot cheaper than this if I interpreted correctly.

That's what I meant. I love Bell Lane but want add some cheaper beans to have here and there to keep the cost down.

breeno · 31-05-2020 9:13pm

dball wrote: »

i haven't gone down the road of Ponaire, Belllane and all the rest of them yet.
I cant seem to justify the spend since buying a b2c mahine i notice that I (we at home) are going through about 1kg every 2 weeks..

From previous uses of moka pots and an Lidl espresso mach from years ago, I always enjoyed a Lavazza.
I started buying a few different types of Lavazza online - mainly from Amazon but also form Discountcoffee.ie

I also chanced one of there owb blwnds - temple bar. https://www.discountcoffee.ie/temple-bar-espresso-coffee-beans-1kg

And at 8.99 KG, I have started to buy it instead of my old friend Lavazza,
they have a number of the Lavazza options too at reasonable prices,

The Temple Bar suggestion is interesting. Is it an oily/shiny bean? Is there anywhere that sells it to try it before getting a kilogram of it? Thanks.

mad m · 31-05-2020 10:36pm

These are in supervalu for €6.99 for 500g bag of beans. Not bad I have to say

https://slumberjackcoffee.com/products

caviardreams · 01-06-2020 8:04pm

mad m wrote: »

These are in supervalu for €6.99 for 500g bag of beans. Not bad I have to say

https://slumberjackcoffee.com/products

Seem to be produced by Clandeboye agencies

Jimmy Bottlehead · 01-06-2020 9:15pm

mad m wrote: »

These are in supervalu for €6.99 for 500g bag of beans. Not bad I have to say

https://slumberjackcoffee.com/products

I see them in aldi too, are they worth a rattle? Worse or better than the Velo beans?

Damo 2k9 · 01-06-2020 9:43pm

JJ Darboven is what I have changed to, well their Eighty nine Brand. Variety of blends available and very reasonably priced.

Darc19 · 01-06-2020 9:47pm

1kg Lavazza beans can be had for €12 - discount coffee and also Amazon and sometimes Tesco on offer.

Decent everyday beans.

okedoke · 01-06-2020 9:57pm

I’ve bought a few bags of the velo beans in Aldi. All were very stale

NATLOR · 01-06-2020 10:10pm

caviardreams wrote: »

I know somebody is going to give out to me for pointing this out but that Velo stuff in Aldi is only 200g - so €20 per kg - not much less than Ponaire/Bell Lane & the OP seems to be looking for a much cheaper price point.

I have found the Zambia beans in the brown bag in LIDL for 2.29 not the worst and drinkable when I tried them if you fancy a punt!

Plus 1 for the Zambia beans there are surprisingly good they are m y go to bean when out and waiting for delivery

mad m · 01-06-2020 11:05pm

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I see them in aldi too, are they worth a rattle? Worse or better than the Velo beans?

I’ve had worse, break glass in case of emergency beans.

Jimmy Bottlehead · 02-06-2020 11:07am

Cheers guys. My palate is unlikely to be as refined as yours with coffee, so if its good enough for you (or close to it), it'll likely be very good for me!

Damo 2k9 · 02-06-2020 12:35pm

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Cheers guys. My palate is unlikely to be as refined as yours with coffee, so if its good enough for you (or close to it), it'll likely be very good for me!

I was the same, I was buying expensive beans but I dont think I was able to tell enough of a difference compared to the cheaper beans I have experienced.

breeno · 02-06-2020 3:55pm

Thanks for the Lidl Zambia recommendations. Just tried it today and it's very good for the price(think they were €2.30 for 227g. They're just what I was looking for to compliment my fresh beans.

caviardreams · 02-06-2020 4:24pm

breeno wrote: »

Thanks for the Lidl Zambia recommendations. Just tried it today and it's very good for the price(think they were €2.30 for 227g. They're just what I was looking for to compliment my fresh beans.

Can everyone stop agreeing with this now please, or else they will be impossible to find in stock anymore!

Roger the cabin boy · 04-06-2020 5:06pm

okedoke wrote: »

I’ve bought a few bags of the velo beans in Aldi. All were very stale

I bought some Tandem this week.

Not impressed tbh. Could be my brewing methods but i find supermarket coffee better (Lavazza)

I may pop into the Cork Cafe sometime and get a cup of expresso to see what i should be getting.

breeno · 04-06-2020 9:04pm

Roger the cabin boy wrote: »

I bought some Tandem this week.

Not impressed tbh. Could be my brewing methods but i find supermarket coffee better (Lavazza)

I may pop into the Cork Cafe sometime and get a cup of expresso to see what i should be getting.

Agree with you on that one. Bought it ground a few months ago and just found it a bit plain and uninteresting.

murphyebass · 06-06-2020 12:03pm

Roger the cabin boy wrote: »

I bought some Tandem this week.

Not impressed tbh. Could be my brewing methods but i find supermarket coffee better (Lavazza)

I may pop into the Cork Cafe sometime and get a cup of expresso to see what i should be getting.

I’m not going to berate you for liking a very dark roasted coffee like lavazza but it’s an entirely different coffee to Tandem which is light to medium roasted.

I’m not saying Tandem is the best, it’s not, but it’s definitely had a LOT more flavour than lavazza. It’s a very good choice at a lower end budget wise.

If ground correctly it makes a nice espresso and imo an even nicer aeropress. Sweet tones.

Lavazza is a very very dark roasted coffee. Because it’s so over roasted there’s no flavour other than burnt to be had.

Light to medium roast is where flavour is to be had.

But again if someone wants that really strong overpoweringly burnt flavour of lavazza or other dark roasted coffees that’s up to them.

I just find it a strange choice.

murphyebass · 06-06-2020 12:03pm

Roger the cabin boy wrote: »

I bought some Tandem this week.

Not impressed tbh. Could be my brewing methods but i find supermarket coffee better (Lavazza)

I may pop into the Cork Cafe sometime and get a cup of expresso to see what i should be getting.

I’m not going to berate you for liking a very dark roasted coffee like lavazza but it’s an entirely different coffee to Tandem which is light to medium roasted.

I’m not saying Tandem is the best, it’s not, but it’s definitely had a LOT more flavour than lavazza. It’s a very good choice at a lower end budget wise.

If ground correctly it makes a nice espresso and imo an even nicer aeropress. Sweet tones.

Lavazza is a very very dark roasted coffee. Because it’s so over roasted there’s no flavour other than burnt to be had.

Light to medium roast is where flavour is to be had.

But again if someone wants that really strong overpoweringly burnt flavour of lavazza or other dark roasted coffees that’s up to them.

I just find it a strange choice.

alec76 · 06-06-2020 2:15pm

LIdl’s Zambia not bad , although I had to set the grinder very fine , compare to my normal settings.
Got 250g Slumberjack in Aldi for €3.49 , not my cup of tea..... it says “medium roast» premium beans. Definitely not medium, it is dark roast with oily finish ( would be alright for milky drinks though)

Roger the cabin boy · 06-06-2020 3:56pm

murphyebass wrote: »

I’m not going to berate you for liking a very dark roasted coffee like lavazza but it’s an entirely different coffee to Tandem which is light to medium roasted.

I’m not saying Tandem is the best, it’s not, but it’s definitely had a LOT more flavour than lavazza. It’s a very good choice at a lower end budget wise.

If ground correctly it makes a nice espresso and imo an even nicer aeropress. Sweet tones.

Lavazza is a very very dark roasted coffee. Because it’s so over roasted there’s no flavour other than burnt to be had.

Light to medium roast is where flavour is to be had.

But again if someone wants that really strong overpoweringly burnt flavour of lavazza or other dark roasted coffees that’s up to them.

I just find it a strange choice.

Well, I am not saying that Lavazza is fantastic, just that Velo is a boutique bean and yet it's not any better than STD supermarket fare.

murphyebass · 06-06-2020 5:08pm

Roger the cabin boy wrote: »

Well, I am not saying that Lavazza is fantastic, just that Velo is a boutique bean and yet it's not any better than STD supermarket fare.

I really wouldn’t call Velo a boutique bean at all. It’s just roasted differently to the lavazza one.

As I said it’s not the best bean out there but at least it’s roasted properly and for what €4 a bag it’s very cheap

Roger the cabin boy · 06-06-2020 7:48pm

murphyebass wrote: »

I really wouldn’t call Velo a boutique bean at all. It’s just roasted differently to the lavazza one.

As I said it’s not the best bean out there but at least it’s roasted properly and for what €4 a bag it’s very cheap

What would you suggest for a coffee bean newb? To sample a good, well sourced and roasted bean?

A standard, if you will.

caviardreams · 06-06-2020 8:44pm

Roger the cabin boy wrote: »

What would you suggest for a coffee bean newb? To sample a good, well sourced and roasted bean?

A standard, if you will.

I would suggest Bell Lane - €6.90 for 250g vs €5 for 250g of the Velo in Aldi. No comparison imo.

murphyebass · 06-06-2020 8:46pm

caviardreams wrote: »

I would suggest Bell Lane - €6.90 for 250g vs €5 for 250g of the Velo in Aldi. No comparison imo.

Where do you get Bell Lane in a shop?

As far a very convenient decent cheap bean coffee goes Velo ticks the boxes.

Bell Lane do lovely coffee by the way but you’re into ordering online etc which isn’t a major hassle but more than some would like.

caviardreams · 06-06-2020 9:51pm

murphyebass wrote: »

Where do you get Bell Lane in a shop?

As far a very convenient decent cheap bean coffee goes Velo ticks the boxes.

Bell Lane do lovely coffee by the way but you’re into ordering online etc which isn’t a major hassle but more than some would like.

Fair enough - yes it is online only (a good few cafes use their coffee though so they may sell their beans but not available in a supermarket as you say)

Squidgy Black · 06-06-2020 10:08pm

murphyebass wrote: »

Where do you get Bell Lane in a shop?

As far a very convenient decent cheap bean coffee goes Velo ticks the boxes.

Bell Lane do lovely coffee by the way but you’re into ordering online etc which isn’t a major hassle but more than some would like.

A few cafes stock Bell Lane also for retail, The Wooden Spoon in Blackrock, Wholesome Kitchen in Mullingar, Willow and Wild in Maynooth are a few that I've seen.

murphyebass · 06-06-2020 10:58pm

Squidgy Black wrote: »

A few cafes stock Bell Lane also for retail, The Wooden Spoon in Blackrock, Wholesome Kitchen in Mullingar, Willow and Wild in Maynooth are a few that I've seen.

Again not giving out but it’s not in the same sentence as the other two mentioned, both of which you can buy in a supermarket whilst doing the rest of your shop.

Hodors Appletart · 07-06-2020 12:33am

The Tesco Colombian Supremo got some good reviews a year or two ago afaik, it's dark roasted to that needs to be taken into account.

Bluefoam · 07-06-2020 9:44am

I got into this for fresh, locally roasted coffee... And I don't claim to I have a caffeine addiction, I just like an occasional nice coffee. So I don't drink cheap coffee, it doesn't appeal to me and I wouldn't know what I'm talking about...

But if that's what you're interested in, have a look at James Hoffman's video...

https://youtu.be/8cIqLvJz8VM

I'm looking at the comments here and the reality is that people keep coming back to recommending fresh beans... Cheap beans don't seem to be able to compete...

Lemsiper · 07-06-2020 9:50am

Amazon has a huge selection of varying prices.

Bluefoam · 07-06-2020 9:55am

Lemsiper wrote: »

Amazon has a huge selection of varying prices.

I think they're looking for stuff you can pick up in a supermarket... Doesn't seem to want anything online.

J_E · 08-06-2020 12:34am

Lemsiper wrote: »

Amazon has a huge selection of varying prices.

With all due respect, Amazon is maybe the last place I'd go looking for coffee. You have a brilliant range from Irish roasters alone at all manners of prices. Start by supporting home, and keep the money out of their pockets for this kind of thing.

Lemsiper · 08-06-2020 9:57am

J_E wrote: »

With all due respect, Amazon is maybe the last place I'd go looking for coffee. You have a brilliant range from Irish roasters alone at all manners of prices. Start by supporting home, and keep the money out of their pockets for this kind of thing.

Sorry, I live in the UK and buy from local roasters here. I've never bought beans from Amazon.

OP wanted cheap & cheerful and while I completely agree with buying local those beans quite often three of four times the price.

Anyway the Amazon factor is irrelevant to the topic as they want a bricks & mortar option.

Cheap and Cheerful Bean Recommendations

Comments