THE 10 BEST GROUND COFFEES OF 2022
In this post, we will explore the topic of ground coffee and aid you in your search for the best ground coffee available on the market.
A lot of people choose to buy ground coffee to brew their coffee at home. We all know it’s handy to have a bit in stock and it shortens brew time. Not everyone has the required time or wants to invest a lot of money in a high-quality manual coffee grinder or electric grinder
There is a wide range available today and a bad choice is easily made. We at Golden Sin will guide you in your search for good ground coffee.
Don’t want to read the whole article? We at Golden Sin Coffee think that you can’t miss with the ground coffee of Kicking Horse, 454 Horse Power. Even though its taste is not for everyone, we highly recommend it. Click here for the link to Amazon!
THE 10 BEST GROUND COFFEES OF 2021
You can click on subtitles to view the products on Amazon.
#1. Starbucks Medium Roast Ground Coffee
When you say Starbucks, you say coffee and they deliver again.
This ground coffee is medium roasted and comes 100% from arabica origin. It has tasting notes of sweet orange and brown sugar. This coffee has a smooth and balanced texture and is well worth the money.
They come in bags of 20 oz (567 g).
#2. Kicking Horse Coffee, 454 Horse Power
Kicking Horse is becoming more and more popular. The 454 Horse Power is a dark roast, roasted in the Rocky Mountains, and labeled as organic and fairtrade. You can taste chocolate, brown sugar, dark chocolate, cacao nibs, and roasted hazelnuts.
It’s suited for a French Press, cold brew, drip machine, and a pour-over. While this coffee is a bit pricier, you know you’ll support hard-working farmers who can have a sustainable business and provide them with a better lifestyle.
It comes in packs of 10 oz (284 g).
#3. Folgers Ground Coffee
Folgers is a popular US brand of coffee.
This classic roast is medium roasted ground coffee. It’s 100% pure coffee. It comes in a vacuum-packed coffee brick and has a fresh aroma and rich flavor. Classic in my book is that you’re doing something right over a long time.
They come in 12 11.3 oz packs (320 g each).
#4. Cafe Du Monde Coffee Chicory
Chicory was intentionally added to prolong the life of the coffee. This tradition is honored by café du monde. This coffee is best served with milk. If you like a sweet, sugary drink, try this one and you won’t be disappointed.
One pack contains about 15 oz (425 g).
#5. DEATH WISH COFFEE Dark Roast Coffee Grounds
Death wish coffee is a dark roast and is a combination of Arabica and Robusta beans, meaning they have a larger amount of caffeine. This blend gives a nice bold taste. It’s organic and fair trade, justifying its higher price. This is one of the best selling in the Amazon store, a must-have if you’re looking for a bold taste with more caffeine.
One pack contains 1 lb, about 16 oz or 454 g.
#6. Tim Hortons 100% Arabica
Tim Hortons is a multinational fast food restaurant chain, based in Toronto (Canada). This coffee is medium roasted and 100% Arabica beans. There are no artificial ingredients. It’s best suited for automatic filter coffee makers.
They come in a big canister of 32.8 ounces (930 g).
#7. illy Classico Espresso Ground Coffee
Illy is an Italian coffee company, that specializes in espresso. It’s medium roasted and has a rich, balanced taste, with notes of chocolate and caramel. It’s composed of 9 varieties of Arabica beans and is of sustainable quality. You can’t go wrong with this one.
They come in 1 pack of 8.8 oz (249 g).
#8. Seattle’s Best Coffee 6th Avenue Bistro
Seattle’s Best is a subsidiary of Starbucks and a popular brand. This coffee is fair trade and organic and is dark roasted. It has a bold and roasty flavor with notes of chocolate, made from a blend of 100% Arabica beans.
One bag is about 12 ounces (340 g).
#9. Kauai Hawaiian Ground Coffee
Kauai Coffee is known for its quality. This coffee is medium roasted, has a coconut caramel taste. They’re made from 100% Arabica beans. Kauai values sustainability.
One pack is about 10 oz (283 g).
#10. Lavazza Espresso Italiano Ground Coffee Blend
Lavazza is Italian and offers great value for a reasonable price. The budget is not a problem on this one. The espresso is medium roasted, 100% Arabica beans, and has a rich flavor and aromatic notes. It’s best used for espresso as the name suggests but also for any coffee maker.
One canister is about 8 oz (227 g). They usually come in packs of 4.
WHAT IS GROUND COFFEE?
Coffee is actually a fruit. Its cherries are processed to access their tiny seeds, the green coffee beans. After that, these beans are roasted and called whole coffee beans. These beans are ground. During this process of grinding, they start to degass and will release their aromas and flavors. You can start brewing right away, without losing time to grind the whole beans yourself.
FRESHLY GROUND COFFEE VS GROUND COFFEE
All coffee lovers won’t argue on this one after they’ve tasted it: the fresher your coffee, the tastier it can be. The main reason for this is that when you freshly grind your coffee beans, you’ll greatly improve aromas and tastes. Last but not least, you’re in control of the grind size and that’s key if you want to adjust to other brewing methods. When you buy ground, there is one grind size you buy, limiting your possible brewing methods.
GROUND COFFEE: PROS AND CONS?
Pros:
+1. A wide range is available. You must take your time to choose, as it is a short step away from brewing that great cup of coffee.
+2. It’s more convenient. We live in an age where everything has to go fast, we hurry to our work, we commute and we need a great cup of coffee and we don’t have time to grind it.
+3. There’s no extra work needed to brew your coffee.
+4. You don’t need to invest in special equipment to brew. A lot of people don’t want to invest in a solid manual coffee grinder or electric grinder.
+5. It’s mostly less expensive than fresh coffee. This makes sense because the quality of fresh coffee is higher. We don’t even take all the logistics that are needed to get the already high-quality coffee to you.
+6. When you don’t have to invest in equipment, you don’t have to maintain it.
Cons:
-1. What you gain in convenience, you’ll mostly lose it in freshness, taste, and quality.
However, that’s not always the case because it depends on the ground coffee you buy.
-2. Since you don’t see the roasted beans they’re made of, you can’t customize them as you would like. It is what it is. If coffee is extracted too fast, it will taste more acidic, sour, if it’s extracted too slowly, it will taste bitter. So you’ll not be able to adjust this grind coarseness. You can always drink the coffee with milk, honey, or other sweeteners,
but that’s out of scope!
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST GROUND COFFEE?
Before you buy your ground coffee, it’s good to make these considerations before you make the (hopefully?) right choice.
#1. Personal taste
There’s only one person who can answer that question and that’s you. What coffee do you like? Do you like a fruity taste, or a bit smokier? The darker your roast, the smokier and less fruity it can taste.
#2. Roast
There are 3 roast categories: light, medium, and dark. Coffee is a fruit and is processed and roasted. The longer the roasting process, the more it influences the flavor and taste.
The lighter your roast, the more subtle and fruity tastes you’ll have. Medium roast adds more sweetness because of the caramelization of sugars, has generally a lower acidity than light roast, and can taste bitter. The flavor is more intense. The darker your roast is, the smokier, bolder the taste. Darker beans are oilier than others and more suited for methods like espresso.
#3. Match between equipment and grind size
Without good equipment, chances are higher that you won’t make a good cup of coffee. It should be able to grind the right size. If your equipment is adjusted to the grind size, your coffee will likely taste watery (too much water) or bitter. You must make a good selection because you won’t grind it yourself in this case.
– Extra-fine coarse: Turkish coffee
– Fine: Espresso, aerepress
– Medium: Pour-over, Aeropress, siphon coffee
– Medium-coarse: Chemex and clever drippers
– to medium coarse: French press and percolators
– extra-coarse: cold brews and cowboy coffee.
The coarser, the less extraction you’ll have and your coffee will have less taste. Too fine is not good because your coffee will be over-extracted or have grounds in it. A piece of good knowledge is key to making a good buy.
WHAT IS BETTER? ARABICA OR ROBUSTA?
There are about 60 different coffee plants in the world, they’re located in a group of countries referred to as “The Coffee Belt”. When you know that there are so many countries that produce a lot of different coffees, it’s unbelievable to see that 2 beans are defining the flavor and quality of the coffee blends in the world: Arabica and Robusta beans.
Arabica dominates the world coffee market, is lighter, and has more flavor. It also has less caffeine. They’re often more exclusive than Robusta, but they justify the higher price in quality. It’s grown at high grounds, this correlates in taste: the higher, the better the taste.
Robusta can be grown almost all over the world but mostly in African and Asian countries. It has a higher resistance to weather conditions and diseases. It has a higher amount of caffeine (about x2 – x3) and is an important source for instant coffee, espressos, and lower-priced blends. In some countries, mostly Asia, they’re used as the source for coffee. They have a rougher, nutty taste. In general, coffee brands that rely on specialty, don’t use Robusta beans.
Today, we see more and more blends of Arabica and Robusta. If you’re curious, you can try the best of both worlds. Blends are, because of the mix with Robusta, generally less expensive. If you start on your journey, you can never go wrong opting for Arabica.
F.A.Q.
HOW BAD IS GROUND COFFEE FOR YOU?
Every product has its “poisons” and amounts that are tolerable in the human body. If you don’t overconsume coffee you’ll be fine.
After it’s roasted, coffee needs to oxidate and this process is hastened by grinding coffee. It’s important to seal it afterward because you’ll lose flavor and aroma.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR GROUND COFFEE FRESH?
It’s not easy to preserve the freshness of your ground coffee. The best way to do this is to stash it in a container and keep it away from light, heat, and air. Even though you do this, it will still lose quality over time. A nice tip is to save it in a large container and use a smaller one for the next days or weeks, to reduce contact with air. It depends on the type of coffee and other factors how long it will last.
WHY IS GROUND COFFEE CHEAPER THAN COFFEE BEANS?
Single-origin coffee beans like Arabica and Robusta, are the main sources of coffee. Ground coffee can be cheaper because it’s more likely that it’s a blend between Arabica and Robusta.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUND COFFEE AND INSTANT COFFEE?
Ground coffee needs to be brewed, instant coffee is already brewed and dehydrated and only requires water (and mix it) to drink. Ground coffee has higher quality than instant coffee but doesn’t last as long as instant coffee.
IS THERE MORE CAFFEINE IN DARK ROAST THAN LIGHT ROAST?
The only notable difference between the roast is the taste, it all depends on the beans and not their color in general. Again, it all depends on the specific coffees you compare. So the answer is no.
CONCLUSION
Ground coffee is convenient and a great option for people who don’t want to invest in a quality grinder or invest time in it. Generally, ground coffee tastes better than instant coffee but won’t beat a freshly ground brew. Try Kicking Horse, 454 Horse Power and you won’t regret it! Always keep exploring new ways!
Enjoy your coffee!